Using Your Google Nest Thermostat with OhmConnect

Smart thermostats connect to your home’s Wi-Fi and allow you to control the temperature remotely using your phone. Smart thermostats were invented in 2007 and have become more ubiquitous since 2020 as customers increasingly want control over their smart home and its energy costs.

Google makes the Nest Thermostat, one of the most popular smart thermostats that you see in big box retailers. The Nest Thermostat and its cousin, the Nest Learning Thermostat, both work with OhmConnect and are good options if you are looking to save on your electric bill and earn rewards for saving energy.

Who controls your Nest thermostat? You do. You can control it directly, just like you would an old-fashioned “dumb” thermostat, but you can also control it with your smartphone (it’s compatible with both iOS and Android). The important thing is, nobody can control your Nest thermostat unless you give them permission.

Why You Should Use OhmConnect with Nest Thermostat

So why would you give OhmConnect permission to adjust the temperature on your Nest thermostat? Because we’re helping automate your energy savings so you don’t have to worry about it. Instead of setting an alarm to remind yourself to manually lower the thermostat during an OhmHour, you can link your Nest thermostat to your OhmConnect account.

When you link your Nest thermostat to OhmConnect, it also allows us to pre-cool your home in the summer and pre-heat it in the winter so that you remain comfortable when the HVAC is off during an OhmHour.

During that OhmHour, you’ll earn big rewards. Just for having your Nest thermostat participate in an OhmHour, you’ll earn 320 Watts. That’s on top of the Watts you’ll earn from the actual energy savings that happened thanks to the lower air conditioning or heating consumption: we’ve found that our average member saves 210 Watts per OhmHour this way. All told, that’s a combined 530 Watts just for having a Nest thermostat participate in OhmHours!

Here are all the details:

• There can be multiple rush hour events each summer and winter. Rush hour events can consist of a pre-cooling period in the summer or pre-heating period in the winter to make your home more comfortable and a period of time when your energy usage is reduced.
• Energy rush hours will start in May and end in October in the summer and will start in November and end in April in the winter. They will occur on non-holiday weekdays and weekends between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• There can be multiple rush hour events per day.
• In the unlikely situation of a critical demand on the electric grid, OhmConnect may need to call a critical rush hour event. Critical rush hour events can occur at any time of day.

How to Link Your Nest Thermostat to OhmConnect

It really pays off to link your Nest thermostat to OhmConnect. So here’s how to do it:

• If you haven’t already, install your Nest thermostat and connect it to your Wi-Fi
• Enroll in Google Rush Hour Rewards ( Here’s how to sign up for Rush Hour Rewards)
• Link your Google or Nest account to OhmConnect ( Here’s where to link your Account to OhmConnect)
• You’re all set! You’ll automatically save energy and earn rewards with your Nest thermostat during OhmHours.

If you have any trouble along the way, reach out to help.ohmconnect.com so we can assist!

Google, Nest Thermostat, and Nest Learning Thermostat are trademarks of Google LLC.