Franklin Pierce
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Texas residents say the temperature on their 'smart' web-connected thermostats was changed without their permission after the state's electricity operators had warned of another round of power shortages amid a heat wave.
The thermostats were raised to 78 degrees without their knowledge - sometimes even as families slept in the middle of the night. Raising the temperature on the thermostat would cause an air conditioner to run less - therefore using less power.
The Big Brother temperature manipulation comes after the Texas energy grid failed this past winter when rolling blackouts left millions without power and 700 dead during February's devastating winter storms.
Houston resident Brandon English said he didn't realize his thermostat had been tampered with until after his wife and infant daughter 'woke up sweating' from an afternoon nap.
It turns out, people had handed over control of their thermostats - at least some people not realizing it - when they signed up for a sweepstakes called 'Smart Savers Texas' operated by a company called Energy Hub. The sweepstakes entered them into a contest to win free electricity for a year.
But in exchange for entering the contest, customers had to opt-into in to a program that allows power companies to remotely adjust web-connected 'smart' thermostats when energy demands are high, KHOU reported.
The 'Smart Savers Texas' program allows power companies to remotely adjust web-connected thermostats, like a Nest, when energy demands are high
Texas residents say temperature on their smart thermostats were raised remotely | Daily Mail Online
The thermostats were raised to 78 degrees without their knowledge - sometimes even as families slept in the middle of the night. Raising the temperature on the thermostat would cause an air conditioner to run less - therefore using less power.
The Big Brother temperature manipulation comes after the Texas energy grid failed this past winter when rolling blackouts left millions without power and 700 dead during February's devastating winter storms.
Houston resident Brandon English said he didn't realize his thermostat had been tampered with until after his wife and infant daughter 'woke up sweating' from an afternoon nap.
It turns out, people had handed over control of their thermostats - at least some people not realizing it - when they signed up for a sweepstakes called 'Smart Savers Texas' operated by a company called Energy Hub. The sweepstakes entered them into a contest to win free electricity for a year.
But in exchange for entering the contest, customers had to opt-into in to a program that allows power companies to remotely adjust web-connected 'smart' thermostats when energy demands are high, KHOU reported.
The 'Smart Savers Texas' program allows power companies to remotely adjust web-connected thermostats, like a Nest, when energy demands are high
Texas residents say temperature on their smart thermostats were raised remotely | Daily Mail Online
