This article guides you through Rush Hour Rewards, Auto Eco, Seasonal Savings and Nest Renew. Find out how each feature adjusts your home's temperature for efficiency and how to disable them for comfort.
Your Nest thermostat offers several intelligent features designed to help you save energy and reduce your utility bills without sacrificing comfort. Understanding how these features differ and work together can empower you to make the most of your Nest thermostat.
This is a utility-based programme that incentivises participants to decrease their energy usage during peak demand periods, often referred to as 'energy rush hours'. By collectively reducing consumption in an area, participants effectively form a 'virtual power plant', which helps to lower overall energy costs for utility companies and consumers. Unlike Nest Renew, Rush Hour Rewards might involve larger temperature adjustments (typically up to 1°C/4°F) over an extended duration (typically 3–4 hours) during these high-demand events.
Tip: There may also be a preconditioning period prior to the event to reduce discomfort.
Unenrol from Rush Hour Rewards
You'll need to contact your utility provider or the Google Support team through their Contact us page. Once unenrolled, your thermostat will no longer participate in these energy-saving events.This enables your Nest thermostat to automatically switch to energy-saving Eco Temperatures when it detects that no one is home. This feature can be identified by 'Eco' displayed on your thermostat or in the Google Home or Nest app.
Specific notifications may vary by model. For example, 'Auto Eco', 'Eco hold' or 'Adaptive Eco' may be displayed. You also have the flexibility to manually activate Eco Temperatures at any time, even when you’re home, for additional energy savings.
While in Eco mode, your system will still operate to ensure that your home stays within the set 'Cool to' or 'Heat to' Eco Temperature ranges. Certain 4th gen Nest Learning Thermostats with Adaptive Eco will pre-heat to your comfort temperature within an hour of your return.
Google Home app
Pause Auto Eco
- Open the Google Home app
.
- Tap Home
Climate
.
- Select your thermostat.
- If Auto Eco is active, it shows 'Using Auto Eco because no one is home' below the thermostat dial image.
- Tap Turn off next to the Auto Eco message.
Turn off Auto Eco
- Open the Google Home app
- Tap Home
- Tap Settings
- Turn off Automatically use Eco when away.
Nest app
Pause Auto Eco while it's active
- Open the Nest app.
- Select your thermostat.
- Tap Mode in the lower left to set the mode to Heat • Cool.
- Tap Eco in the lower centre to end Eco Temperature on all thermostats.
Turn off Auto Eco
- Open the Nest app.
- Select your thermostat.
- Tap Settings
- Turn off Automatically use Eco temperatures when no one’s home?
This is a short-term programme offered each summer and winter. If you opt in, Seasonal Savings will make small, gradual temperature adjustments (typically up to 1°C) to your thermostat’s schedule to optimise energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort. The programme runs for three weeks and will respond to temperature changes that you make to avoid temperatures that you find uncomfortable.
Important: This setting is currently available for Nest Thermostat (2020) and Nest Thermostat E. It will become available for Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd gen and Nest Thermostat E in the future by October 2025.
Turn off Seasonal Savings
Important: If you opt out or turn Seasonal Savings off, you won't be able to opt in to the programme again until the next season that it becomes available.
If you don't want to use Seasonal Savings, you can turn it off at any time.
Google Home app
- Open the Google Home app
- Tap Home
- Tap Settings
- If Seasonal Savings isn't available, it will say 'Inactive'.
- If it's active, tap Leave Seasonal Savings.
- To stop receiving future invitations, turn off Get notified about Seasonal Savings.
Nest app
- Open the Nest app.
-
Tap your thermostat
.
- If Seasonal Savings is running, you can check how many days remain.
- Tap Stop.
This is a no-charge service available in the continental United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) that integrates with your compatible Nest thermostat to adjust your usage when energy is cleaner or less expensive. It intelligently shifts your energy usage to periods when the grid relies more on clean energy sources or when energy prices are lower. This service enables effortless savings on utility bills, environmental benefits and community support by making minor, short-term temperature adjustments that align with optimal energy periods.
Turn off Nest Renew shifts
- Log in to your Nest Renew account.
- Select Settings
.
- Under 'Energy Shift settings', turn off Standard savings and/or Time-of-use savings.
Cancel your Nest Renew subscription
- Log in to your Nest Renew account.
- Tap Settings
These are similar features that learn from the temperature adjustments that you make to optimise the temperatures in your schedule.
- Smart Schedule is an updated version of the algorithm only for the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen). It has the option to automatically make changes or provide changes as suggestions for you to review. Learn how to use Smart Schedule on your Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen).
- Auto-Schedule can only make changes automatically, and is available on the Nest Learning Thermostat (1st to 3rd gen) and the Nest Learning Thermostat E. Learn how to use Auto-Schedule on your thermostat.