On average, more than half of a US household’s energy consumption is for just two uses: heating and cooling.¹ This means that a thermostat can really make an impact on your home’s energy use, and reduce your overall energy bill.

It seems simple, but one of the best and least used tools for energy savings is programming your thermostat. But many programmable thermostats are just set to stay at one temperature all the time. People don’t know how to manually create an energy-efficient schedule, or find it too complicated. That’s where Nest thermostats come in.

Nest thermostats make it simple. They either automatically learn your preferences² and routines and build a schedule for you, or they guide you through creating an energy-efficient schedule yourself. Once that schedule is set, your Nest thermostat will automatically adjust the temperature throughout the day to help run your HVAC system more efficiently, so you can save and be comfortable at the same time.

Helpful features like Savings Finder and Seasonal Savings can help you save even more. Savings Finder suggests tweaks you can make to your temperature schedule, like adjusting your sleep temperature a bit. Just accept the Savings Finder suggestions to start saving. And Seasonal Savings fine-tunes your temperature schedule as the seasons change. You can learn more in this published paper. 

In many households, a lot of energy is wasted heating or cooling the home when nobody’s there. If you opt in, Nest thermostats can use sensors and your phone’s location to determine whether you’ve left the house. Then, your thermostat can set itself to an Eco temperature when you’re away, so you don’t waste energy heating or cooling an empty home.⁴

The Leaf icon appears on your Nest thermostat or in the app to signal that you’ve made an adjustment to a more energy-efficient temperature.³ The Leaf encourages you to choose energy-saving temperatures that are a little higher or lower than what you’ve set in the past, all in the name of energy and cost savings. 

Nest thermostats are also smart about when to use energy, thanks to Rush Hour Rewards. Just as traffic clogs up roads when everyone drives to work at the same time, energy rush hours occur when a lot of people in a particular area turn on air conditioning or heating at once. With Rush Hour Rewards, you can earn rewards from your energy company by using less energy when others are using more.

Many smart thermostat brands estimate savings by comparing to a thermostat set to 72° F 24/7 all year long. This can often result in higher savings estimates. Instead, Nest calculates savings using a more rigorous approach based on real data.

In 2015, we reviewed the energy bills of real people in real homes across 41 US states before and after installing the Nest Learning Thermostat. We watched the data roll in from two independent studies and the results were clear: on average, the Nest Learning Thermostat saved an average of 12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills.⁷ Read more in our energy savings white paper.³

And energy savings by Nest thermostats have not significantly changed over time. In 2024, Google conducted an updated assessment of real-world energy savings that households have achieved from replacing conventional thermostats with Nest thermostats. Based on comparisons of utility bills before and after installing a Nest thermostat, and additional energy savings provided by Seasonal Savings, we found that on average Nest thermostats can help save 12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills.⁷

So it’s simple. Nest thermostats can help you save.

We’ve been saying all along that the Nest Learning Thermostat saves energy, and rigorous testing by the EPA has confirmed that. In February 2017, the EPA awarded the Nest Learning Thermostat an ENERGY STAR® certification, making it the first smart thermostat to receive this designation.⁵

Since then, all the other Nest thermostats have been ENERGY STAR® certified, too.

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) ticker features an estimate of how many kilowatt-hours all Nest thermostats have saved since October 2011.⁶

These energy savings are calculated based on the typical percentage of heating and cooling savings found in real-world studies of Nest Thermostats. To calculate the total savings, we apply these savings percentages to the actual heating and cooling hours of all Nest thermostats in use during the period.

Nest thermostats can help keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter, just as you like – with many ways to increase your savings.