How Homeowners Are Cutting Heating Bills With Comcast's Xfinity Home

Nearly half of home energy use stems from lighting, heating, and air conditioning. “That’s why tailoring your household energy consumption to your real, day-to-day needs can go a long way,” says Bill Horrocks, Comcast Vice President of Product Management for XFINITY Home. “Settings, controls, and automated systems can help you use fewer kilowatt hours and save on your bills.”

Xfinity Home — Comcast's web-based home security and automation platform — allows users to automate timing for lights and control their home’s heating and air conditioning systems. After a simple online configuration process to establish settings, our customers can access this innovative service from an in-home touchscreen or through the XFINITY Home app on any Internet-connected device.

"The vast majority of our customers’ interactions — nearly 90 percent — happen via mobile device, like a tablet or cell phone," Bill says. "We give them tools to stay in touch with their homes, whether they’re at the grocery store, traveling overseas, or sitting in the backyard."

Customers can use the Xfinity Home touchscreen in their homes to check the weather, news, or sports scores. And when it’s time to run an errand or take a trip, the platform makes it simple to set rules for which lights come on when, and how warm the house will be while no one is there. Supported by broadband connectivity to enable remote access and control, the platform also has a cellular back-up system that helps ensure users can always stay on top of their home energy consumption.

Energy Star reports that just by using a programmable thermostat to follow recommended temperature levels, homeowners can trim energy use by an average of 10 percent.

"I’ve seen it firsthand in my own home," Bill notes. "Every month, the energy efficiency I achieve through my Xfinity Home thermostat settings translates into significant savings on my utility bill.

"Imagine coming home after a day of work to find just the lights you need turned on inside the house," he adds. "That’s not only a house that knows you better — it’s a house that helps you make good on your environmental goals."

Xfinity Home is part of our commitment to offering products that make the most of technology’s power to keep people connected — to their families and their homes. "The future is bright for this platform," Bill says.

That’s why in 2013 Comcast launched an entirely new set of XFINITY Home capabilities, including home, away, night, and vacation modes that automatically align energy consumption with user needs. We will also release EcoSaver, our smart energy solution that "learns" how much energy our customers’ daily activities require, and ultimately allows them to be more aggressive about saving.

Xfinity Home empowers our customers to increase energy efficiency — one home at a time. To learn more about this, and how Comcast is driving toward a better tomorrow through innovation, view Comcast's corporate social responsibility report here.