December 6th, 2023
How Ada saves hundreds a year on her energy bills with Intelligent Octopus
Meet Ada: A Houston-local and Octopus Energy customer since February 2022. She’s managed to cut her energy bill by about 30% a year while supporting the Texas power grid with Intelligent Octopus for thermostats. Let’s check in to see how she’s finding our latest tech.
What is Intelligent Octopus?
Intelligent Octopus is our demand-response feature that is compatible with your smart thermostat. Occasionally, when there's a need to conserve energy, we’ll pause your thermostat’s settings for a short period of time. We never let your home get more than 3 degrees of your setting and holds are usually no more than 30 minutes. For every month you’re connected, you’ll receive a discounted energy rate for your entire home.
My experience with the program has been great. I mean, who doesn't want $25 to be a nice little cushion every month, especially during the summer.”
Note: Customers who signed up to Octopus Energy before June 22nd, 2023 will receive a $25 monthly bill credit when enrolled onto Intelligent Octopus. Customers who signed up after June 22nd, 2023 will receive a discounted energy rate instead of a monthly bill credit.
Hi Ada, why did you want to join Intelligent Octopus and how are you finding it?
I joined in June so I got to take advantage of Intelligent Octopus throughout the whole summer. I really wanted to get onto the program so I could unlock the savings and be more energy efficient with a smart thermostat.
Why did you want to connect your thermostat? Was it the savings? Was it support for the Texas grid?
For me, it was all of the above. I follow CenterPoint and Octopus on social media and you guys are always posting about the grid conditions and the need to conserve energy, so there is a chance that I won't always see that on time. But I know Intelligent Octopus will make an adjustment to my thermostat for me so I can help support the grid even when I’m unaware of its unstable conditions.
You start analyzing after the 2021 Texas freeze. I really don't want to mess with the grid. I really want everybody to have a comfortable life.”
When you connected your thermostat, did you have any concerns initially and did you notice any differences afterwards?
I didn’t whenever I read about the program. I decided to try it and see what happens with the changes to my thermostat. I’m the kind of person who likes to jump into things to see how it goes and if I don't like it, I’ll jump out, but I really did like it so I knew it was going to work out.
I didn't really notice a big difference because it's only just a couple of degrees.”
Would you say you trust Octopus to adjust your temperature settings to help balance the grid at the same time?
You guys know how much electricity is on the grid. If we are going to need to conserve energy, or if there's going to be other issues. I know you guys are looking into all that but I’m not.
Octopus knows numbers – what’s happening tomorrow and if we are going to have enough electricity. I know you are looking into all of that so that gives my trust to you all that you take care of that piece, and I don’t have to worry about it.
Would you recommend Intelligent Octopus to others and what are the three most important benefits you’ve seen from it?
Yes, I’ve recommended it to a lot of people. Co-workers, friends, parents – I tell them this comes in handy and what a great idea it is.
There were a lot of people complaining about their energy bill this summer and I told them that I’m with Octopus and you should check them out. I suggest comparing prices and seeing if that's something appealing to them.
For anyone who is hesitant about connecting their smart thermostat, what would you say to them?
You can jump in and jump out at whatever time you want. It only happens for a few minutes. It's not for hours and hours and hours, and it is only a couple of degrees at any point.”
Ready to connect to Intelligent Octopus?
For existing customers - If you have an ecobee or Sensi, download the Octopus Energy app. Once installed, scroll down to "Connect my device" on the home page to get started.
For customers with Honeywell, Amazon, or Google Nest thermostats, please contact us at heretohelp@octopusenergy.com for enrollment instructions.
For new customers - Enter your zip code below to enroll then download the app to link your device.
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