Readers took notice of the article in the March issue of Carolina Country about Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation’s offer to purchase ecobee programmable thermostats for only $50 plus tax. The cooperative has recently seen increased interest in residential inquiries about BEMC’s ecobee program, and for hundreds of families, that could potentially save them up to $100 a year.
Now in its third year, this program was designed for members who want to be proactive about being more efficient in their energy usage, and also potentially reduce their monthly bill. And using ecobee’s mobile app gives members complete control of their heating and cooling energy use.
“While we are at work we set the A/C at 79 degrees while no one is at the house. An hour before we get home we can adjust it down to 75 degrees or wherever we feel comfortable.”
Laurie and Rick Winner of Supply signed up for the ecobee program about a year ago. “We appreciate its remote management capabilities, especially when we go out of town,” says Laurie.
Rick adds, “While we are at work we set the A/C at 79 degrees while no one is at the house. An hour before we get home we can adjust it down to 75 degrees or wherever we feel comfortable.”
What started as a pilot program has grown into a popular option, one that may help members save money while helping the co-op to measure the true impact a programmable thermostat can have on consumer energy savings and utility costs.
How it works is simple: The cooperative provides the ecobee Wi-Fi enabled thermostat to qualified members at a discount, and participants agree to allow BEMC temporary access to control their thermostat during peak load to reduce demand on the system. The aim is to reduce consumption at peak times when energy costs are high. Participants can opt out at any time to override the adjustment, but their energy savings will be less.