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Develop an outdoor temperature sensor

roladuby
Community Member

Hello Nest Developers,

I’m curious why you have not developed an outdoor temperature sensor and changed the software on the thermostats to take the location temperature from this?

It currently uses online temperatures which are wildly inaccurate for my area.

I have a heat pump/AC unit which make heats until the set temperature on the thermostat, and then it will switch to alt. fuel below that set temperature. To have the thermostat take the outdoor temperature directly at the heat pump/AC unit outside would make far more sense for efficiency no? Like I said online temperatures area wildly inaccurate.

Please develop an outdoor sensor , even if it has to be directly wired to a power source, and have a software update that allows the user to get temperature data from that sensor instead of the internet. This would go a long way with efficiency.

5 REPLIES 5

CoolingWizard
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

Rolanduby,

while this might be a good recommendation, I do not believe the developers or product managers follow this community board. Very few systems have the required 2 additional thermostat cable conductors to attach an outdoor temperature sensor to.
Now then, your heat pump typically produces more heat energy per kilowatt of power consumed than the equivalent produced by a gas furnace. To understand this you need to reduce the electricity consumed (kW) and the energy of gas (Dth) to equivalent value of BTUs. Basically natural gas is less expensive than electricity. When a heat pump ambient temperature gets down to 10°F the gas efficiency catches up.
Ken, The AC Cooling Wizard

NestPro, Google Pro, Mechanical Engineer and HVAC service company owner.
If my answer solved your problem, click Recommend this Answer below, and If it helped you, please give a Kudo.

Why would you need two extra wires when the Nest Sensors already run on wifi? That doesn’t add up. And where I live, natural gas is quite expensive, especially with carbon tax. That is only going up I the future over 3 times, so it’s going be very short lived if it is at all less expensive. I have found major savings on my utilities bills in the winter, but it could be more. (On average during winter months, I’m finding savings of $100+ not using gas, and electricity only goes up $40 EACH month) If the thermostat knew it was only -4C at my home but the internet tell it is -11C then I’m using the more expensive option. The proof is in the savings on utility bills.

CoolingWizard
Platinum Product Expert
Platinum Product Expert

The nest remote temperature sensor is for indoor use to prioritize the system’s heating or cooling mode for a specific room that is remote from the thermostat. It cannot be used outside. Most modern HVAC systems that use an outside temperature sensor, use either two wires (S1 and S2) or the system will use a proprietary control system that communicates digitally using RS485 and two data wires typically D+ and D-. The thermostat digitally talks to the air handler control board and the the outdoor unit control board.

Ken, The AC Cooling Wizard

NestPro, Google Pro, Mechanical Engineer and HVAC service company owner.
If my answer solved your problem, click Recommend this Answer below, and If it helped you, please give a Kudo.

Thanks Ken, I am well aware that the sensor cannot go out side. But it could be designed for that. I am an industrial electrician, I am well aware of the wiring requirements. If the system already uses wifi, it should be able to be used again. If it did require direct wiring for an outdoor sensor, my system has the capability for it. The problem is the Nest DOES NOT allow for an outdoor temperature sensor, which old require a programming change. Hence my hopes for starting this thread.

EdwardT
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi folks,

 

@CoolingWizard, thanks for the help as always!

 

@roladuby, We hear you. Our team is working hard to deliver the best experience for our users — we'll take this as feedback. Keep your eye on the Google Nest Community page for any updates. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.


Check out this link on how to file feedback.

 

Thanks,

Edward