SolarCity® announced a partnership with Nest Labs, creator of the Nest Learning Thermostat™, to make saving money on energy even easier for residential customers. The first 10,000 new customers in California who sign up with SolarCity will receive a Nest Thermostat installed at no additional cost. To qualify, customers must have a compatible air conditioning system and agree to connect their Nest Thermostat to SolarCity as part of the Works with Nest program.

This special offer combines two home energy solutions that can cut power bills as well as homeowners’ carbon footprint, and allows homeowners to experience these benefits with one easy package through SolarCity.

SolarCity can make it possible for homeowners to install a solar system at no upfront cost and pay a lower rate for solar electricity than they pay for utility power. The Nest Thermostat can program itself – it remembers what temperatures homeowners like, creates a custom schedule for the home and automatically turns itself down when homeowners are away. Results from three recent energy-savings studies show that on average, Nest can save customers about 10 to 12% on their heating bills and 15% on their cooling bills. This translates to an estimated average savings of $131 to $145 a year with the Nest Thermostat alone, and combined with affordable solar power from SolarCity, customers can save hundreds more each year.

SolarCity will offer qualifying customers access to Nest energy services – such as Seasonal Savings – that were previously only available through utilities and government energy programs. Additionally, SolarCity is building connections with the Nest Learning Thermostat that can deepen solar integration capabilities and help homeowners further optimize their savings and comfort. These Works with Nest integrations will be available to eligible SolarCity customers this summer.

(Photo: screenshop from SolarCity + Nest website)