What happened
Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit that runs utility efficiency programs, installed 185 Nest thermostats free in homes heated by air-source heat pumps. The pilot ran through the 2013-14 heating season. The Nest could lock out backup electric resistance heat, and the report says that it uses learning algorithms to minimize that backup heat. Energy Trust evaluation staff compared the homes' electricity use with 299 comparison homes from the same pool, and Apex Analytics reviewed the analysis. Apex reported on 10 October 2014 that weather-normalized savings were 781 kWh per year. That is 4.7% of total electricity use and 12% of heating load. The realization rate against the predicted 836 kWh was 93%. In a second survey, 89% of respondents rated the thermostat 4 or 5 out of 5. Only 11% of the homes offered a thermostat had one installed, and 11 thermostats were removed for technical problems. Apex called the savings preliminary. Energy Trust ran the pilot and commissioned the evaluation.
Sources
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Evaluation report, by an evaluator that the makers or users commissioned.
Apex Analytics LLC. Energy Trust of Oregon Nest Thermostat Heat Pump Control Pilot Evaluation. Prepared for Energy Trust of Oregon, 10 October 2014.
The preliminary, weather-normalized, annual electric savings attributable to the Nest thermostat were 781 kWh per year or 4.7% of total electric usage and 12% of heating load. Compared to the predicted savings of 836 kWh per year, the realization rate was 93%.
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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Installers set the heat pump balance setting to Max Savings. The thermostat locked out backup resistance heat without an outdoor temperature sensor.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Occupants keep the Max Savings setting, since backup heat runs about twice as much without it. Homes have Wi-Fi and a heat pump with backup resistance heat.
Entry details
- Sector
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Energy (residential efficiency).
- Purpose
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Nest Labs built the Nest Learning Thermostat to schedule home heating and cooling automatically from the temperatures that occupants choose.
Not yet checked: model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.
Cite this record
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). Nest thermostats trim electricity use in Oregon heat-pump homes (AIBD-0729). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 31 October 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0729.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 4.0)