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Nest Thermostat Displays Incorrect Outside Temperature!!

Cascadeconsult
Community Member

The outside temperature indicated on our 3rd Generation Nest Thermostat is off by 8 - 10 degrees significantly impacting the efficiency of our system; Heat Pump and Aux Heat. 

From what I can see, this issue has been raised for more than 2 years by many users and so far there is no fix and unfortunately it cannot be resolved by the user resetting the device, connecting to WIFI, verifying location, etc. as sometimes suggested.

The issue is upstream from the user and it is very easy to see if you simply compare the google results of "zip code + weather" vs "City, State + weather". The Nest still requires a zip code to be used for the Nest's location while the results for "City, State + weather" returns the accurate information. We live in a city of 35,000 people with one zip code and we're consistently off by 8 - 10 degrees.

How is it that this can go several years without being resolved? At this point it defeats the main purpose for having a Nest! Please let me know if anyone has hit on a solution or what we can do to make Google more aware of the problem. Thanks!

35 REPLIES 35

mbauop
Community Member

Same here .

Does anyone know any outside temp sensor I could attach to the nest thermostat to have the correct outside temp ?

Jake
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey all,

 

Apologies 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
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Cascadeconsult,

 

I want to ensure you are good to go, and everything is working properly. Please let me know if you are still having trouble, as I will be locking the thread in 24 hours due to inactivity. 

Best regards,
Jake

Hi Jake,

Yes, I am still experiencing the same issue. For example, today if you enter our zip code into google.com it returns a temperature of 27 degrees and it returns 35 degrees if you enter our city, state. The city, state temperature is more accurate but our Nest unfortunately uses the zip code. I would love it if we could find a solution. Thanks!

Iluvuk
Community Member

I have the same problem.  Is there a solution? 

Kirk4
Community Member
  • I’d like to ask Jake what the basis for his “good to go” message was. This is a long standing issue that to my knowledge has never been fixed. Right now my nest is 13 degrees off, which is about what it was five years ago when I first bought a nest.

Cascadeconsult
Community Member

I agree! And I'm not sure why Jake hasn't responded to the latest posts in any way?! We are of course in the middle of winter and this issue is really causing problems (costing money).

I improved the temp discrepancy dramatically by using an adjacent zip code to mine.  Try changing to a nearby zip code.  It helped mine be more accurate.

KLocq
Community Member

Using an adjacent ZIP code only works when the wind blows in the correct direction.  Think about it. 

Jake hasn't responded because he's not really a Nest specialist. I'm guessing he's been hired by Google to do social media PR. Check out his profile and his latest posts. It's always the same template answer "wanted to check in to see if you're good to go" and never offered any solution. 

Wagnerkw
Community Member

I’m guessing no solutions to this.

 

my nest says it’s 25 degrees outside. It’s actually 45 degrees. The low today was 38. It’s not even close. My address is correct, but seems the temperature is from another state.

Iluvuk
Community Member

Try changing to the zip code next to yours.  Worked for me

Parl
Community Member

Put another zip in for a few seconds then change it back the temp will reset itself

AustinEddie
Community Member

My Ecobee always had the right outdoor temp, but oddly this shiny new Nest learning thermostat needs to learn how to get the right outdoor temp?

Johnsnest
Community Member

My Nest is in a zip code that covers a huge area and some 3000 feet of elevation change. I'm on the western edge. My outside temp can be off by 30 degrees. By picking the zip code that is just west of me, the temp is much closer. Not perfect, but a lot closer.

Where did you go to change the zip code? Thanks!

In the Nest app click settings, then home info, then address

Johnsnest:

I have the exact same situation, except the elevation variance is more like 2000' here in NE Georgia. But the temperature at my house is an average of at least 5 degrees cooler than in town for my zip code. I haven't yet tried the neighboring zip code trick, but I don't have high hopes of those being any more accurate.

To make matters worse, I just spent $200+ to replace my old, faulty Outdoor Air Temperature (OAT) sensor attached to my Carrier heat pump/propane back-up dual fuel system (including an old, programmable Carrier thermostat). Now I feel stupid because I realized today that there seems to be no way to attach the OAT & S-Return wires to my new Nest Learning Thermostat. It makes my Nest Thermometer experiment *very* expensive because I can return neither it nor the new OAT sensor at this point. Ouch!

So, does anyone know...

1. If there's a way to attach the OAT/SRTN wires to the Nest Learning Thermostat?

2. If the Nest Temperature Sensor can be used outside in order to trigger my dual-fuel system to switch fuels at the correct temperature? I have a place that is both protected from both sun & rain and should be within Bluetooth range (despite walls) of my thermostat.

3. Is there any way for the Nest thermostat to pull the outdoor temperature from my neighbor's online Weather Underground Personal Weather Station rather than the Weather Channel's less precise location-based outdoor temperature?

Dbtoo
Community Member

MIne used to be close to correct, but no it always reads about 13º too low - which of course affects heat pump usage and adds to propane costs. Google seems completely indifferent to this issue. I wonder if Ecobee is any better? I did a little research just now and found that if I look at the Wunderground local weather station map there are stations in my county that are showing the same temp as my Nest. I have multiple temp sensors on different thermostats and/or sensors around our 20 acre property and can guarantee that it is almost 13 degrees warmer here. And, fact there are other stations in my county that are reading within a degree of mine - including the nearest one to my location. It would be great if we could tie to our own outdoor weather stations/thermostats.

frejoel
Community Member

I had a similar issue where the weather was incorrect, looked like it was picking up a different county altogether. I tried resetting the nest thermostat and resetting my address in the nest app, but those solutions didn't work. I also have Google Home setup with my nest, and in the end, changing my post code in Google Home to a different one then setting it back to my real one fixed the issue. It wasn't an instant fix, I only noticed it was correct many hours later.

SammyV
Community Member

The outside temperature on your nest has nothing to do with the efficiency of your nest thermostat in your air conditioner. The temperature that matters is your indoor temperature and if the indoor temperature is really correctly, your nest thermostat will turn your air conditioner or here on or off to beat that set point that you set. Again, nothing to do with outside temperature

You are correct if you are taking air conditioning but if you read the post we are discussing heat pumps and dual fuel systems which are directly affected by outside temp for heating.  As the nest will switch to dual fuel when the temp drops below freezing because the heat pump can not pull enough heat from the air.  

MWH
Community Member

The outside temp is very relevant to my dual fuel system. Where do you get this info you use?

JL-
Community Member

When you have a heat pump (not a traditional a/c), the temp settings affect which unit (the a/c condenser or the furnace) provides heating. This affects efficient system operation and subsequent operating costs.

Wdm
Community Member

Had the same issue when I first installed using my full address. I modified the address to just the street (no house number), City, State and Zip code and it began showing the correct outside Temperature. My house is a new build, so maybe the street address was confusing the system. In any case, new build or not, it’s worth a try as it resolves by issue. 

Daveydoobs
Community Member

I have the same issue. It's showing my outside temperature as 0, when in fact it's 11. This is put my heating on...

DeMottinSpokane
Community Member

I am having the same sort of problem. The Nest thermostat does not recognize the correct outside temperature. The actual temperature is 31 degrees (and this is what the Nest app shows, too). The thermostat shows 42 degrees. Therefore, the heat pump is trying to heat the house very inefficiently at such a low temperature. I have the system set to heat with the gas furnace when the temperature is 40 degrees or below.

It's very disappointing if this is a problem that Google has known about for a long time and done nothing to correct.

JamesMessa
Community Member

On option is to adjust the outside temperature at which the unit calls for the dual heat demand.  If you are constantly low adjust it down.  I believe it defaults to 35. 

Itsahowl
Community Member

The issue with the outside temp is due to which weather monitoring station in your zip code nNest is polling. If you live next to mountains,  like I do, there is a significant difference in the temp based on elevation change. I live in the valley the weather station is high up a canyon but both share the same zip. Since I believe there is no capability to change the reference station the only fix is to use a nearby zip that is similar in geography. Hope that explanation helps. 

This is incorrect. Why would you make something up and post it as a response.

 

my Google nest outdoor temp is off by states, not some other place in my zip code. I live in SC and the temperature is pretty similar for a very large area. Google Nest is consistently off by 10-20 degrees.

rfburleigh
Community Member

I have the exactly the same issue as the original post by Cascadeconsult, and I can't believe this is hard to fix!  Why can't the outside temp  be looked up using "City, State" instead of just "ZIP"??  My ZIP code includes our small community and a bunch of mountains that are 2000' to 4000' higher, so my "ZIP" temp is lower by 8-15 degs compared the "City, State" temp which is right on.  I tried the nearby ZIP codes and they don't work for me -- on some days/times they are close, but on others they are way off.  Come on Google, why hasn't this been fixed long ago???

This is a huge issue, because I have a dual heat system, and the electric furnace is kicking in and the heat pump is shutting off much sooner than is needed.  I end up wasting $'s, electricity, and I contribute to global warning.  This needs to be fixed!

AVDG
Community Member

I have 3 Nest Learning Thermostats in my 3 zone home. Yesterday I had 1 of the 3 HVACs serviced and now ONLY that nest is showing the incorrect outside weather. The other 2 nests are showing the correct outside weather. The difference is stark; 60deg F outside and displaying 24deg F. I have tried the zip code trick to no avail.

Ncamp08
Community Member

My thermostat reads an external temp of 44f when it is actually 74f in my zip code (entered into nest correctly).  What’s up with that?

Wagnerkw
Community Member

Outdoor temp is a worthless feature and Google couldn’t care less. Get used to it.

scobsd
Community Member

Yeah, this is just way too stupid! Changed zip from a suburb to main zip in Reno and it is now correct.
Love everything else otherwise but a 20-degree delta outside temp is beyond stupid.