Tens of thousands of Colorado residents lost the ability to control the temperature of their homes this week after their power company took control of their thermostats during a heatwave.
“I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico of Arvada told the local ABC news affiliate in Denver.
The Talaricos had a “smart thermostat” and were signed up for Xcel Energy’s voluntary Colorado AC Rewards program, which gives customers $25 every year to give up control of their homes’ temperature in “emergency” situations.
“To me, an emergency means there is, you know, life, limb, or, you know, some other danger out there — some, you know, massive wildfires,” Talarico said. “Even if it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon situation, it just doesn’t sit right with us to not be able to control our own thermostat in our house.”
It doesn’t sit right with me either.
Whether the AC Rewards program was voluntary or not, everyone should think twice before hooking anything they depend on up to the internet. Once a corporation or government has remote access to something you own, they will eventually use that access to thwart your wishes.
This is true whether or not you think you control your John Deere tractor or your Tesla.
If you really want to depend on something, it is best to make sure it doesn’t use software at all.
