Home security and automation systems firm iControl network has formalized a partnership with cloud-based home energy services firm EcoFactor and is moving ahead on a plan to pitch the combo to cable operators and other service provider partners.
Under the partnership, EcoFactor has joined the iControl OpenHome Partner Program and has been stitched into iControl’s cloud-based server infrastructure. Through that integration, iControl will feed EcoFactor with multiple sets of data from the home, including local temperatures and thermostat settings. The system uses that data to learn the heating and cooling patterns of a home and change settings in a manner that makes the home more energy-efficient while also aiming to reduce heating and cooling bills.
EcoFactor estimates that its energy management service is already available to more than 50 million homes in North America. EcoFactor chief marketing officer Ted Fagenson said the integration with iControl and iControl’s integrations with multiple hardware providers will help to bring baseline, energy-saving benefits to a fragmented thermostat market.
Comcast is the first iControl partner to roll out the EcoFactor component, offering the feature in a service the operator calls EcoSaver. Other service providers are also starting to test out the combination, said Jim Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of iControl’s cable division.
Other iControl service operator partners include Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, Rogers Communications, and Comporium, which has partnered with Mediacom Communications. ADT, the leading U.S. provider of home security systems, uses iControl to power its ADT Pulse service.
