How Nest thermostats work with Rush Hour Rewards

1. Your energy company predicts a Rush Hour

Your energy company predicts a large rise in electricity or natural gas demand caused by a cold snap or heat wave. To help relieve demand and prevent possible brownouts and blackouts, an energy Rush Hour is scheduled and sent to all Nest thermostats in the Rush Hour Rewards program.

2. You get a Rush Hour notification

You’ll get a message on your Nest thermostat and the app that tells you when the upcoming Rush Hour will start and end.

• If the Rush Hour is scheduled in the morning, you’ll get a message the night before.

• If the Rush Hour is scheduled in the afternoon, you’ll get a message at least an hour before.

• If you have 2 or more thermostats that are in the Rush Hour Rewards program, you’ll get a notification for each one.

Note: You can use the thermostat display to turn Rush Hour messages on or off in SETTINGSENERGY PROGRAMS. You can also go to Settings  Subscriptions Rebates and Rewards in the Google Home app, or go to Settings  in the Nest app.

3. Your thermostat pre-adjusts your home’s temperature

Once your thermostat knows the Rush Hour is coming, it might pre-adjust the temperature in your home before it starts. This is so less heating or cooling is needed during the Rush Hour event.

When this happens, you should see a gold gear on your thermostat and in the app with the words “PRE-COOLING” or “PRE-HEATING.”

The timing for your thermostat to pre-adjust your home’s temperature might be different from other homes. 

Note: You’ll only see pre-cooling or preheating for a morning Rush Hour if you have Early-On turned on and use one of the following thermostats:

• Nest Learning Thermostat 1st gen
• Nest Learning Thermostat 2nd gen
• Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd gen
• Nest Thermostat E

This is to help prevent you from being woken up by a noisy system or change in your home’s usual temperature.

The second graph shows that with Rush Hour Rewards, cooling is turned off at specific times to decrease the use of your system during peak energy demand. The combination of pre-cooling and short periods of cooling during the Rush Hour means you’d use your air conditioner less than you would’ve if you didn’t participate in Rush Hour Rewards.

You can also go to your monthly Home Report for more information about your energy savings from Rush Hour Rewards.