The European Union (EU) announced an agreement to work with the US to deploy at least 1.5 million smart thermostats across the bloc this year, as part of a bid to cooperate on energy efficient technologies and diversify energy supplies.

A joint statement by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Joe Biden explained the US and the EU would partner to deploy smart thermostats in European households in 2022, encouraging member states and European and US companies to reach the goal it has set for the year.

Smart thermostats run on Wi-Fi to adjust cooling and heating temperatures in a home, helping to cut energy costs and, along with smartphones and smart watches, fall under the ever-growing internet of things (IoT) segment.

Numerous major technology players, including Google, Apple and Amazon, offer thermostats as part of their smart home offerings.

The announcement around thermostats follows the formation of a US, EU task force set up in March to reduce reliance on Russian energy supplies as well as take further action towards a shared goal of net zero emissions no later than 2050.

Aside from thermostats, the EU said the US was also supporting goals towards accelerating clean technologies, with the taskforce deploying heat pumps and energy demand response solutions.