Top 45% of Nest Users in my Area, Despite Never Running My Furnace

[jtocwru]

I'm not reporting a problem, and I'm sure I'll get flamed for this somehow by some tedious dilettante, but I find it amusing that my Nest Report for February says that I'm in the top 45% of Nest users in my area (Central New York State / Finger Lakes) for the month of February.  I'm very impressed by that, because my Nest was in the "off" setting for the entire month of February.  Not once -- not even for a minute -- did I place the Nest in "heat" mode.  Why?  Because I was running an experiment to see if I could get by for an entire month using only my wood stove.  My normal heating system is a Dandelion geothermal system, and it's relatively inexpensive to operate, but my experiment wasn't about anything other than seeing how much of a hassle it would be to heat entirely with firewood.

I'm just surprised that I only came in at "top 45%" compared to other Nest users in my area.  I guess I would have expected more like top 5%, but maybe there are tons of other people in my area who kept their thermostats off for the entire month of February.

[Jenelyn_O]

Hi jtocwru,
 

Thanks for reaching out. I'm sorry for the delay.
 

That's a good question. Let me check and get back to you with more information. In the meantime, I'll share with you this support article for more information about Nest Home Report.
 

Best,

Jenelyn

[Jake]

Hey jtocwru,

I wanted to check in and see if you managed to see Jenelyn's post. Please let me know if you have any questions from here. I would be happy to assist, and make sure you are good to go.

Best regards,
Jake

[jtocwru]

Hi, I did see her reply, but I'm still not sure what the math is behind the calculation.  My assumption is still that the "you're in the top [X]%" calculation is based on the amount of time that the Nest is "on" (where "on" means "eco" or "heat" setting.)  Compared to most people, I guarantee that I'm in the top 5% of energy usage.  I live mostly alone, except for half the week when I have my son with me.  We both like it cold, so when we run the geothermal system, it's never more than 65.  I'm frequently away from the house, and many nights I'm not in my house.  When I leave the house, the house is frequently allowed to drop down into the 50s.  There's simply no way that I'm "top 45%" compared to most people.  Most people I know keep their houses warm all the time.  And, like I said, in February I never even turned the heat on, because I was heating with wood.  Yet, my Nest report implies that there were lots of people who used far less heat than I did.  I don't get it.