Google reportedly working on Nest-like thermostat service, dubbed ‘EnergySense’

Update: @evleaks has screenshots of the Android companion app:

Google: coming to a thermostat near you
[https://t.co/8lPHX9vONK] pic.twitter.com/EftKr5ZrKG

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) December 17, 2013

According to a new report from The Information, Google is currently testing Internet-connected thermostats, similar to products like the Nest, to help people easily monitor and adjust energy use. The report, citing “two people told about the project,” claims that Google has been testing the service in the St. Louis area with “Trusted Testers” that are not employees.

The report goes on to add that the project is reportedly dubbed “EnergySense” and the hardware is reportedly created by a third party, such as Ecobee. Ecobee denies that it is working with Google, but says that the company could still be using its hardware. 

It’s important to note, however, that Google Ventures is the largest single investor in the Nest thermostat, which is one of the best products on the market right now for providing services like this. So it seems likely that Google is not testing a custom thermostat service, but rather something related to the Nest. Though, according to one of the sources, Google is not intending to compete with Nest, but hater to make energy more affordable and efficient, as well as building applications and services with the data it collects.

There’s no word on when Google may give us a look at this product, so we still have some waiting to do.