No one wants a budget-busting utility bill, but no one wants to sweat inside their own home, either. With summer here and temperatures on the rise, Nest has a new feature that may help. The Seasonal Savings tool was previously available only to Nest Thermostat users who were customers of utility companies that offered a Seasonal Savings program, but the feature is now available to all Nest Thermostat owners for free.
The Seasonal Savings feature acts as a personalized energy monitor. It will tweak and adjust your energy usage, sometimes by measures as small as a fraction of a degree, to help reduce energy use and lower the bill. According to Google, these small adjustments add up. Users see an average of 3% to 5% savings on their heating and cooling costs. While that may not seem like a lot, if everyone that uses a Nest Thermostat takes part, it adds up to savings of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It can also help prevent brownouts, which are temporary lags in electrical power that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.
The Seasonal Savings program will roll out this month for all Nest thermostats in the United States and Canada, with the exception of Quebec. When it becomes available, you will receive a notification on your Nest thermostat and inside the Nest app asking if you want to opt-in. After you sign up, the program works automatically.
In addition to the Seasonal Savings feature, Nest provides several other features that can help reduce utility costs. One of these is the Filter Reminder feature that reminds you when your air filter needs to be changed. A dirty filter can make heating and cooling your home less efficient and diminish the air quality inside the home. Sunblock is a feature that uses the Nest’s sensors to detect when it is exposed to direct sunlight and adjusts the temperature accordingly.
Another is the Nest Leaf icon, a symbol that appears on your Nest’s display when you choose an energy-saving temperature. These temperatures are different for everyone and depend on your schedule and temperature preferences. Finally, you can also allow the Nest Thermostat to track when you’re home. When you’re away, the thermostat will adjust the temperature so that energy is wasted on an empty home. When you come back, it will automatically adjust to your favorite setting.
With summer on the way, take the chance to cut back on energy costs and opt-in to Nest’s energy-saving features. Your utility bill will thank you.
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