Can a smart home change your behavior? The energy companies certainly hope so. The data deluge resulting from the increase of sensors in our homes is giving service providers the leverage to incentivize consumer behavior, and it could ultimately save everyone some cash.

Commonwealth Edison Company, or ComEd, the largest electric utility in Illinois, recently challenged its customers to voluntarily lower their electric usage during peak hours. Those customers enrolled in ComEd’s Peak Savings program were eligible for the contest, which awarded the biggest savers with smart appliances from General Electric (GE).

The Peak Time Savings program relies on smart meter technologies to monitor customers’ power usage, crediting their electric bills for decreased consumption during peak hours. For every kilowatt-hour (kWh) they voluntarily reduce, they earn $1 credit. According to ComEd, the program saved approximately $400,000 on customers’ electric bills this past summer.

“This is another program that leverages the smart meter technology so our customers can reap the value of the investments made to modernize our electrical system,” said Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations, ComEd. “Smart meters are at the heart of what we believe will become the electricity network of the future. Smart appliances are able to work with smart meters and know when electricity prices are cheaper, or reductions are being requested. This feature gives customers greater options on their energy usage and saves them money on their electric bill.”

Five winners have been selected which include Chicago residents Donna Clyburn, Melissa Petty, Ruth Burns, and Raymond Reese and Evelia Casimiro of Cicero. Each of the winners will receive the following GE smart appliances: refrigerator, range, dishwasher, washer/dryer, and hybrid water heater.

ComEd is the first utility in the Midwest to offer Peak Time Savings to its customers, and under the company’s Smart Grid plan, it will install about four million smart meters throughout its service area by the end of 2018. More than 1.6 million smart meters have been installed in ComEd’s service area and customers with these smart meters a eligible to sign up for Peak Time Savings.

Photo by triviaqueen