Read the full story at Smart Planet.
Nest, the startup purchased by Google, partnered with several utilities last year to take the intelligence embedded in its web-enabled learning thermostat beyond the home and to the grid in an effort to broaden its energy savings mission.
The partnerships appear to have worked. On Thursday, Nest released the stats behind two of the programs–Rush Hour Rewards and Seasonal Savings–designed to encourage customers to cut their energy use. To date, the Rush Hour Rewards program, which allows people to earn money or credits from their utilities by using less energy when everyone else is using more, has achieved a 55 percent reduction in use during peak times, according to Nest.