Tempted to install a smart thermostat in your home?  In June of 2021 smart thermostats being remotely controlled by a Texas utility company led to dangerously hot temperatures in customers' homes.  More recently a study revealed that smart thermostats are really bad for already vulnerable U.S. utility power grids (see 1, 2, 3, 4).  Yikes!

From Study Finds:

Smart thermostats could actually be damaging local power grids

by Chris Melore

ITHACA, N.Y. — Smart thermostat users probably love the savings they see in their monthly energy bills, but a new study finds many people may be falling into a "trap" that's actually straining their local power grid.

Researchers from Cornell University say letting the thermostat make all of the decisions when it comes to managing electricity creates peak demand across the network at the wrong time of the day. It's an especially costly problem moving from summer to winter — when people are looking to heat their homes more often.