Grover Electric, a decades long supplier of electricity in Cinniapolis, has been branching out into the retail sector of electric products for several years now. They’ve produced lamps, chandeliers, and even an electric toothbrush. However, their newest and fastest-selling product, Grover Electric Smart Thermostat, gained quite a bit of traction in 2022, albeit for unintended reasons. Its sleek design and easy-to-use digital interface made it popular with seasoned homeowners, commercial facilities, and young residents too. The device is advertised to learn one’s habits and temperature preferences in order to minimize energy usage. Consumer reviews universally praised the thermostat for not only its claimed energy savings, but for lowering energy bills all over Cinniapolis. However, the praise was short-lived as multiple consumers shared videos on CNPS Stream alleging the Grover Electric Smart Thermostat is nickel-and-diming consumers by heating their indoors between 0.5°F and 1°F above or below the programmed temperature during cold seasons and warm seasons.

The CCIT interviewed several of the consumers that posted videos. They granted our team permission to independently observe and investigate their allegations. Our findings were consistent with the public’s suspicions regarding variances between their device’s displayed temperature versus the actual indoor temperature. As with their videos, the participants chose to remain anonymous for fear of backlash from Grover Electric and the general public.

Our research and conclusions were separated into two groups, residential and commercial buildings. Both types of structures suspect they are victims of thermostat fraud. We followed the same process as consumers of simply placing a Mercury thermometer on the wall next to the Grover Electric Smart Thermostat.

First, we partnered with a local commercial office building. The Facilities Manager (FM) walked us through how they programmed their thermostat. Their office hours are 7:00 AM open to 7:00 PM close. From 7:00 AM through 7:00 PM, the programmed temperature was 71°F. From 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM, the programmed temperature was 65°F. When associates began to comment on the balmy office temperature, the FM chalked it up to creature comforts at home not being extended to the office. But, as weeks went by and the comments turned to complaints, the FM adjusted the thermostat down a couple degrees. “And, it just felt warmer,” the FM said, “That’s when I put up an old-fashioned thermometer right next to it. We had it programmed for 69°F for the daytime, and the thermometer was reading 74°F.” The FM scheduled a service call with Grover Electric and their tech deduced it was a software bug that would be fixed with their next operating system update. “The Grover tech said the update would roll out in a few days. Well, weeks went by without an update. Our phone calls and emails to Grover went unanswered. So, we just moved on and put in a thermostat from a different manufacturer. We’ve had zero issues since installing the replacement. This one really is smart,” said the FM with a wry smile.

We presented these findings to other local businesses and they all had similar experiences. While not all thermostats were reading 5°F off the actual temperature, most were between 1°F – 3°F variance from the displayed temperature and the actual temperature. We checked in during both warm seasons and cold seasons. The temperature variances were consistent by facility, whether it was cold or hot outside. Another anonymous FM said, “They are definitely doing it intentionally. We had our IT department investigate, and they found coding within the software confirming our suspicions. Being a small start-up, we didn’t want to cross one of the bigger influential corporations in town. We asked if we could break our contract, they said no. We insinuated litigation to get out of the contract because they had breached it, they said no. We then presented our findings to them and asked out of the contract, then they obliged.” When asked why this company won’t share their findings with others to end the alleged scam, the FM said, “I’m not trying to save the world. I have this job, my family and kids that keep me busy. Plus, they forced us to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to get out of our contract.”

The Grover Electric Smart Thermostat performed similarly in residences across Cinniapolis too. One real estate owner was willing to go on the record with his claims. Kris Voper owns several apartment buildings in the area. He showed us how his heating and cooling bills increased after installing the smart thermostat in all of his properties. “I thought it was a great investment. I could set a fiscally responsible temperature for each unit and then offer free heating and air conditioning for my tenants. Boy, was I wrong,” he said. Mr. Voper’s cooling bill from August ’22 was a 174% increase from August ’21, “That’s insane. The average temperature was something like 0.3°F cooler than last summer (August ’21) but my bill was through the roof. The same thing for December this year and last year, similar outdoor temperature and the exact same indoor temperature. I know energy prices are higher but not that high. Then, I saw those CNPS videos and replaced the thermostats right away,” Mr. Voper said. He also claimed he wasn’t under contract like other locals because he has ‘resources’, “My properties aren’t under contract because they know I have an ability to defend myself in court. But, they prey on smaller outfits or lower income households to lock them into abusive contracts because they know those customers don’t have the means to fight them in a court room.”

The CCIT reached out to Grover Electric to be interviewed for this story but did not receive a response as of this reporting. It’s another PR black eye for Grover Electric after their infamous re-routing of electricity from residential areas to the Public Works building during the October snowstorm. The scrutiny towards Grover Electric has the potential to intensify as their cozy relationship with the Gondola family and Mayor Gondola’s administration could get put under the microscope leading up to February’s Mayoral special election. A skeptical public mixed with questionable business practices may shine a light on the need for reform within Grover Electric’s leadership.

It’s possible a malfunctioning smart thermostat could be the root cause of displayed temperatures not matching actual temperatures. But, it seems more likely this is an intentional grift of Cinniapolitans at home and at the office, all to the benefit of Grover Electric executives.