Any way to send solar panel data to the learning thermostat?

[j88hunter882]

Installed the Learning Thermostat around mid September and the graphs show the electric use for cooling (almost to the point we'll need heating), during the first 30 days.

Looks like we're reducing the electricity used for cooling by . The proof will be in the EPE electric bills. 

It really seems to be learning the best times to cool to minimize electricity usage.

Is there any way to tell the thermostat that solar power is available from our system?

The sun shines almost 11+ hours a day here. We do get clouds, but the panels still generate.

The peak cooling requirement is 3-6 PM, if the software starts pre-cooling at 10 am it should reduce

the power consumption and move it into a lower peak in the grid.

[Jake]

Hey j88hunter882,

Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to follow up and ensure you are good to go. Please let me know if you are still having any trouble from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further. 

Best regards,
Jake

[Jake]

Hey j88hunter882,

Please let me know if you still have any questions about the device and usage, as I will be locking the thread in 24 hours due to inactivity. 

Best regards,
Jake

[ShwedishFish]

see responses below

[j88hunter882]

I was hoping to get some suggestions from Google/Nest support on how to make the Learning Thermostat aware of the periods solar system generated peak power. Even a simply setting (static) which would work a high percentage of the time especially during April through September. Las Cruces, NM gets about 294 days a year of sunshine and the cloudy days usually occur in November through March.

[ShwedishFish]

I'm also curious about this. Peak grid electrical demand begins around 4-5pm. The Nest thermostat seems to want to minimize power draw then but my solar panels are giving me free, green energy on most days. How can I make the nest thermostat take this into account?

[j88hunter882]

The thermostat seems to adjust the temperature in anticipation of peak demands. I didn't get any specifics from Google. My electric bill has gone from zero to a credit of about $20 a month. I'm in Las Cruces NM, but get electric from El Paso Power. Texas is trying to really limit net metering, so far the PUC in New Mexico has been holding firm. FYI I have 24 Toshiba panels and Enphase micro-inverters and control system. A sunny month it produces about 1.6 megawatt/hours.

[AtomicInternet]

I'm also getting adjusted due to peak demand.  I don't mind, but my solar panels are also outputting peak energy at that time (usually).  Would be great if the thermostat was aware I have solar energy available to use (or track usage with my consumption)

I see Vivint is a Google Home partner, but not SunRun (who bought out Vivint Solar) so I'm assuming this is dependent on them being willing to share.  I have the actual JSON data from the solar controller, but again I'm guessing that's beyond most consumers so not likely to be an option for data.

[willmr]

I'm also interested in this feature being added to Nest's funcitons.

[SolarDude]

I am also in Cruces and interested to have this feature as part of the app

[Jhonleanmel]

Hey everyone,

We appreciate your interest however, we don't have any news to share about integrating your Nest Thermostat with Solar sources of power or to send Solar Power data to your Nest Thermostats. We're always looking for ways to improve and we'll take it as feedback.

I also suggest that you send feedback by following this link. Let me know if you have other questions or concerns, otherwise I’ll be locking this thread after 24 hours. 

Best,