WEBVTT NOTE duration:"00:01:59.5700000" NOTE language:en-us NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.240 The main way Ircad is asking everyone NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.654 to conserve power is by turning up NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:04.654 --> 00:00:06.399 the temperature on their thermostats. NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.255 But what if someone else is doing NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:08.255 --> 00:00:10.509 it for you without your knowledge? NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:10.510 --> 00:00:12.652 Matt Doherty is hearing from folks in NOTE Confidence: 0.8473121 00:00:12.652 --> 00:00:15.250 Deer Park who say it's happening to them. NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:16.100 --> 00:00:17.732 When Brandon English got home from NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:17.732 --> 00:00:19.380 work yesterday, the house was hot. NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:19.380 --> 00:00:21.012 She had cranked it down about NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:21.012 --> 00:00:22.650 2:30. It takes a long time NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:22.650 --> 00:00:25.109 for this House to get cool. Once it gets NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:25.110 --> 00:00:26.748 that hot earlier in the day, NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:28.115 Brandon's wife and their daughters NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:28.115 --> 00:00:29.480 decided to take their afternoon NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:31.335 nap. They had been asleep long enough NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:31.335 --> 00:00:33.294 that the house had already got 78 NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:33.294 --> 00:00:34.940 degrees, so they wake up, sweating NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:34.940 --> 00:00:36.008 without anyone touching it. NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:36.008 --> 00:00:37.076 Their thermostat was changed NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:37.076 --> 00:00:38.210 while they were sleeping, NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:38.210 --> 00:00:39.850 making their home unbearably hot. Was NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:39.850 --> 00:00:41.754 my daughter at the point of overheating, NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:43.398 you know, she's three months old. NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:43.400 --> 00:00:44.632 They dehydrate very quickly, NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:44.632 --> 00:00:46.910 so we're very careful when we go out. NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:46.910 --> 00:00:48.460 Places, let alone her covered NOTE Confidence: 0.8495054 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:50.630 up in the bed, just getting hot NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:00:50.630 --> 00:00:52.100 soon after that his wife NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:54.040 got an alert on her phone. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:00:54.040 --> 00:00:55.900 The thermostat had been changed remotely, NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:00:55.900 --> 00:00:57.780 raising the temperature during NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:00.600 a 3 hour energy saving event. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:02.520 The family Smart Thermostat was NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:05.167 installed a few years ago as part NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:05.167 --> 00:01:07.135 of a new Home security package. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.240 Mini smart thermostats can be enrolled NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:09.240 --> 00:01:11.810 in a program called Smart Savers Texas. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:11.810 --> 00:01:14.674 It's operated by a company called Energy Hub. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:16.588 The agreement says that in exchange NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:16.588 --> 00:01:18.630 for entry into his sweepstakes, NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:18.630 --> 00:01:20.470 electric customers allow for the NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:20.470 --> 00:01:22.310 company to access their thermostats NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:22.366 --> 00:01:24.370 during periods of high energy demand, NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:27.234 their list of its clients include TXU Energy, NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:27.240 --> 00:01:28.491 Centerpoint and Arcaute. NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:28.491 --> 00:01:30.576 Brandon says he unenrolled their NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:30.576 --> 00:01:32.591 thermostat as soon as he found NOTE Confidence: 0.866197 00:01:32.591 --> 00:01:33.707 out because you never NOTE Confidence: 0.83540505 00:01:33.710 --> 00:01:35.500 would have done it. No, NOTE Confidence: 0.83540505 00:01:35.500 --> 00:01:37.786 I wouldn't. I wouldn't want anybody. NOTE Confidence: 0.83540505 00:01:37.790 --> 00:01:40.020 Else controlling my things. For me, a NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:40.020 --> 00:01:41.300 scroll through Houston Reddit NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:41.300 --> 00:01:42.846 board shows Brandon's, not alone. NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:42.846 --> 00:01:44.604 Several others say they found out NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:44.604 --> 00:01:46.662 during this week's heat wave that NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:46.662 --> 00:01:48.437 their thermostats were being accessed NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:48.437 --> 00:01:49.910 remotely as well, Brandon says, NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:49.910 --> 00:01:51.190 although it's been convenient, NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:51.190 --> 00:01:53.100 it's just not worth it. Well, NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:53.100 --> 00:01:54.700 somebody else can manipulate this. NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.570 I'm not. I'm not for it in Deer Park. NOTE Confidence: 0.8418478 00:01:57.570 --> 00:01:59.568 I'm at dirty KHOU 11 news.