Your Smart Thermostat Isn’t Here to Help You
Everything’s so smart now. Smartphones, smart speakers, smart lamps, smart plugs, smart doorbells, smart locks, smart thermostats. Smart things are smart not because they have smarts, but because they connect to the internet. Online connectivity allows them to be controlled, either locally or from afar—and in ways both visible and invisible.
The sales pitch for smart devices typically focuses on convenience. Rather than needing to fumble with a physical switch, you can turn a smart bulb on and off from bed (or from Bed Bath & Beyond), for example. A smartphone allows you to do work or doomscroll while you watch television and ignore your children. A smart thermostat allows you to tweak your home’s temperature from wherever. But why?
I found myself asking this question after two unrelated smart-thermostat events this week. First, my electric utility emailed offer to save big on smart thermostats from companies such as Google and Ecobee. from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) challenging claims that devices like the ones sold by Google and Ecobee can conserve energy. The two seemed either entirely compatible (the utility wants me to conserve energy, and smart thermostats will help) or completely at odds (I want to pay for less energy, and smart thermostats don’t help). After looking into the matter, I’m less confused but more distressed: Smart heating and cooling is even more knotted up than I thought. Ultimately, your smart thermostat isn’t made to help you. It’s there to help others—for reasons that might or might not benefit you directly, or ever.
