Tucson Electric Power is working with local apartment complexes to help their limited-income customers save energy and to reduce their monthly utility costs through the use of "smart" thermostats.
The new TEP program is providing close to 1,800 Nest Learning Thermostats to the local apartment complexes that participate in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Thermostat users can save an average of 15 percent on cooling bills and 10-12 percent on heating bills annually, according to Nest.
The thermostats are able to learn customer's preferences in about a week and automatically adjust to help save energy. They can offer suggestions to the users in helping users reduce energy usage and are able to be adjusted remotely using a tablet, smartphone, or laptop in homes with Wi-Fi.
Thermostats will be installed at no cost to residents. They will also receive educational materials with energy-saving strategies, thermostat instructions as well as efficient light bulbs.
To learn more about Nest thermostats, visit their website here.
