Smart Thermostats, Automation, and Willingness to Accept Discomfort

Last registered on June 15, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Smart Thermostats, Automation, and Willingness to Accept Discomfort
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018558
Initial registration date
June 08, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 15, 2026, 4:34 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
David Brown
Affiliation
University of Alberta
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Erica Myers
PI Affiliation
University of Calgary
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PI Name
Blake Shaffer
PI Affiliation
University of Calgary
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-06-22
End date
2027-06-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
Demand Response, Automation, Thermostats, Critical Peak Pricing
JEL code(s)
C93, L94, Q40
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project evaluates a smart thermostat program designed to help reduce electricity demand during periods of high system stress. Participating households will be enrolled in a thermostat program that can automatically adjust thermostat settings during occasional peak-demand events. Households will always have the option to override or opt out of these adjustments.

Participants will be randomly assigned to different program conditions, allowing the research team to compare how households respond to alternative program designs.

The study will use information generated by participating thermostats, including thermostat operation, temperature settings, and whether households choose to opt out of an event. These data will be used to evaluate how program design influences electricity demand reductions during peak periods and participant engagement with the program.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Brown, David, Erica Myers and Blake Shaffer. 2026. "Smart Thermostats, Automation, and Willingness to Accept Discomfort." AEA RCT Registry. June 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18558-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
In this study, all households enrolled in the field experiment will have smart thermostats and will be exposed to critical peak pricing (CPP) events. During peak events, households will be notified in advance via the smart thermostat App, email, and/or a text message. We will randomize the attributes of the events.
Intervention Start Date
2026-06-22
Intervention End Date
2027-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Thermostat run time, peak event opt-out rates
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Electricity Usage
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We will use the smart thermostat run time information to quantify the impact of thermostat automation on the kWh of electricity used during peak events.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Experimental Design information provided in the intervention details above.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer with a pre-determined randomization seed.
Randomization Unit
We will randomly assign households into 4 groups with approximately the same sample size. Within each group, households will receive the same randomized peak event characteristics during each peak event.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We anticipate households will be clustered into 4 groups.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We anticipate having up to 900 households with smart thermostats.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We will have 4 approximately equal-sized household clusters.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Alberta Research Ethics Board
IRB Approval Date
2026-04-08
IRB Approval Number
Pro00164006
Analysis Plan