Google's Nest has partnered with San Francisco-based OhmConnect on solutions for the demand response market, which sees customers paid for turning down household energy use to reduce peak loads. The company said it will offer a new generation of smart thermostats that can be controlled by smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. Under the arrangement with Nest, OhmConnect offers customers of the smart meter company money for reducing energy consumption, mainly by turning down air conditioning, at times when the grid would otherwise have to use gas-powered "peaker" plants to meet demand.
Google's Nest has partnered with San Francisco-based OhmConnect on solutions for the demand response market, which sees customers paid for turning down household energy use to reduce peak loads. OhmConnect has more than 300,000 mainly California-based customers, who represents a combined 100 MW capacity in terms of load reduction. Under the arrangement with Nest, OhmConnect offers customers of the smart meter company money for reducing energy consumption, mainly by turning down air conditioning, at times when the grid would otherwise have to use gas-powered "peaker" plants to meet demand.