Google is reportedly shutting down EnergySense, the home management service it began testing late last year in an attempt to compete with Nest, before acquiring the company for$3.2 billion in January. The news comes from Android Police, which got its hands on an email sent from Google to EnergySense testers. The brief note explains that the trial run for EnergySense is officially over and Google will shut down the service in two weeks. Starting March 31, the company will drop support for its mobile apps and website.
It’s been just over three months since we gave you an exclusive look at EnergySense, Google’s attempt to jump start their home management offerings. Now it looks like they’re ending support for the project, closing down the web and Android apps that are currently in the test phase. This is the email sent to the EnergySense testers from Google. EnergySense allowed users to remotely set and program a compatible thermostat through a web interface and a beta Android app. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Nest thermostat does pretty much the same thing. Google purchased Nest lock, stock, and heating vents back in January, about a month after we caught wind of the EnergySense program. There’s no definitive statement that EnergySense is being abandoned in favor of Nest, or indeed something new from the Nest team, but it would make a lot of sense.