SolarCity, Nest Join Forces To Get More Homeowners To Install Solar Panels, Smart Thermostats

SAN MATEO (KPIX 5) – California already leads the nation in home solar installations, but now there's a deal that could literally put sales through the roof.

"It really is a win-win. And I think it's the customer is the one that really benefits," Brian Farhi of Nest told KPIX 5.

The partnership is between San Mateo's SolarCity, the nation's largest solar provider, and Palo Alto's Nest Labs, a leader in home technology. Under the deal, the first 10,000 customers who sign up for a new SolarCity home installation will get a free Nest smart thermostat which usually go for $250.

"Nest is a great way to save money on your heating and cooling bills. And the combination of that with your lower electricity bills when you go solar can save our customers a lot of money," said Emily Kofsky of SolarCity

It's a deal with Silicon Valley heavyweights behind it. Nest is owned by Google, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is SolarCity's chairman of the board.

The deal signals the emerging importance of not just solar, but energy management. Nest thermostats are smart enough to learn home energy use patterns and habits, and adjust heating and cooling to be their most efficient. At the same time, SolarCity's app lets homeowners graphically see their own energy production and usage in real time.

"What SolarCity is doing is creating some really nice interactions between the Nest thermostat and their system. Through that, customers are going to be able to save even more energy," Farhi said.

One new study shows that rebates are not as effective as neighbor influence when it comes to people installing solar. With new panels on the roof, and a high tech thermostat on the wall, Nest and SolarCity hope early adopters will do the selling for them.