New summer software
Summer is coming. And temperatures may be just as sweltering as last year. So today we’re launching new Nest thermostat features to keep you cool, help with your AC bills, and satisfy some of our most requested product suggestions. Yes, as you can see, we’re listening.
If your 1st or 2nd generation Nest is connected to Wi-Fi, you’ll automatically get an update in the next few days that will include:
Sunblock
In 60% of homes, the thermostat is in direct sunlight at some point during the year, heating up and reading temperatures up to 25°F (14°C) higher than reality. In the summer, that means the AC runs overtime. In the winter, the furnace may not turn on at all. It’s frustrating for customers and one of the big issues we hear about in customer support and our online community.
So Nest invented Sunblock for your thermostat. Sunblock senses when Nest is in direct sunlight and automatically adjusts so Nest reads and sets the correct temperature. It uses Nest’s built-in light sensor to track the sun’s patterns and temperature sensors to detect—and adapt to—heat spikes from the sun. Sunblock is enabled by default in every Nest thermostat, and will turn on after at least one day of Nest being in direct sunlight. Look for the little sun icon on Nest’s display and find Sunblock in the NEST SENSE section of SETTINGS.
More about Sunblock
Advanced Fan Control
If we’ve learned one thing about our customers in the last year, it’s this: they really like fans. And for good reason: circulating the air keeps homes from getting stuffy, maintains an even temperature throughout the house, and can sometimes save energy. With Advanced Fan Control, you can now schedule the fan to run all night and turn off in the morning, run for a few minutes every hour, or just turn on at 6pm when you get home from work. To schedule your fan, go to FAN in SETTINGS.
More about Advanced Fan Control
Cool to Dry
If you live in an excessively humid area (see: Florida) and don’t have a dehumidifier, you already know the only way to control humidity - and the mold that comes with it—is with the air conditioner. With Cool to Dry, Nest uses its humidity sensor to detect when humidity reaches potentially unhealthy levels. Then it automatically turns on the air conditioner when needed—for as long as its needed—to help keep your home dry. This feature is only meant for homes in extremely humid climates and can be found in NEST SENSE in SETTINGS.
More about Cool to Dry
Enhanced Auto-Away
With our last update, we improved Auto-Away so it could turn on as quickly as 30 minutes after you walked out the door. Now, Auto-Away has gotten much better at understanding when you’re coming home. Say you leave in the morning and your schedule says to turn on the AC at 2pm. If Nest thinks you’ll be home in the afternoon, it’ll pause Auto-Away and turn down the temperature at 2pm so you’ll come home to a cool house. However, if you usually come home at 6pm, then Auto-Away will skip over that 2pm temperature and help you save energy all day long.
More about Auto-Away
Mobile app updates
We’ve updated the Nest Mobile app for iOS and Android to make it more natural to change the temperature—it’s just like turning the ring on Nest itself. We’ve also added messages, so Nest can send you a message on the Web or Mobile app when you need to change your filter, for example.
Explore the Nest apps
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune technology finds new opportunities to save you energy, then helps you take advantage of them. We’ve created two features powered by Auto-Tune that are currently available to customers of our new energy partners:
- Rush Hour Rewards - You could earn $20-60 back from your energy provider this summer. It’s simple: Rush Hour Rewards helps you use less energy while everyone else is using more, which earns you money from your energy company.
- Seasonal Savings - Seasonal Savings automatically fine-tunes your schedule over several weeks to help you save energy and stay comfortable. In our trials, it's helped Nesters use 5-10% less heating and cooling.
Enter your zip code to find out if your energy provider has partnered with Nest.
We can’t control the weather (yet), but we hope these new features will help make this a better, cooler, more comfortable summer. Have more ideas about what Nest should do? We’re taking suggestions.
