Solar-As-A-Service Provider Sunrun And Smart Home Startup Nest Team Up To Help People Save Money On Energy

Sunrun and Nest Labs have teamed up to help their users get more out of both their solar energy panels and home automation products. The partnership will give customers who choose to use both products $500 in total savings, while also making it easier to lower the overall cost of powering their homes.

Sunrun offers what it calls a “solar service model” — that is, rather than users paying to have solar panels installed on their homes, Sunrun covers the installation and users pay a low fixed rate for the energy they consume. That helps homeowners save money over typical utility bills, while also saving the environment through the use of green energy.

Meanwhile, Nest has created a home-automation solution for heating and cooling homes with its smart thermostat. The idea is to also help users save energy over time, thanks to the thermostat’s ability to more efficiently control the temperature of a home based on what it knows about when users are present and the optimal temperature throughout the house. Nest’s seasonal savings service can help homeowners use up to 5-10 percent less heating or air conditioning, which in turn cuts energy costs by up to 20 percent.

Together, the companies have a pretty powerful solution, which is why they’ve teamed up in a co-marketing campaign. The companies are offering up a free Nest smart thermostat, as well as $250 worth of electricity for Sunrun customers. Meanwhile, Nest customers that wish to go solar will get $500 worth of electricity if they sign up for Sunrun’s service. For both companies, it’s a win-win way to get homeowners using their products.