Electric Ireland to offer Nest IoT thermostat to customers

5 Nov 2014

Electric Ireland has announced a partnership with Nest that will offer its customers the chance to get their hands on Google’s Nest smart thermostat as part of the growth of internet of things (IoT) devices.

Nest has established itself as the most well-known brand in IoT devices with this particular device allowing the homeowner to control his or her thermostat from anywhere in the world via an internet connection.

It is even designed to learn a user’s daily patterns allowing, for example, home heating to be turned on prior to the homeowner’s usual arrival time home from work.

This also plays a part where its array of sensors will notice when there is nobody at home and will turn off or turn down the heating to save on energy.

As part of the deal between Electric Ireland and Nest, new customers who sign up for a two-year deal with the utility provider will receive a free Nest thermostat, while existing customers can purchase one of the devices for €99.

The Nest smart thermostat became available for sale in Ireland last September.

Nest also announced this year it is to set up its own Dublin office within the campus of its parent company, Google.

Speaking of the deal, general manager of Europe for Nest Labs, Lionel Paillet, who had previously spoken to Siliconrepublic.com, said, “With space heating responsible for over 40pc of the average household energy bill, according to Eurostat, the equivalent to €876 per year, this new offer from Electric Ireland constitutes a fantastic deal to Irish consumers.

“We look forward to helping households across Ireland take control of their energy consumption and make their homes more comfortable this winter.”

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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