Is Xcel Energy's AC Rewards program worth joining?
Yes for most single-family homes with central air, an eligible smart thermostat and an AC that keeps up on hot days: Xcel pays a one-time enrollment credit and an annual reward, and you can opt out of events. Skip it if your upstairs already runs hot or someone needs steady cooling.
Key points
- AC Rewards lets Xcel adjust an enrolled smart thermostat during peak summer demand, in exchange for an enrollment credit and a yearly reward.
- You can opt out of events, except rare system emergencies Xcel says can't be overridden.
- You need Minnesota Xcel electric service, central air, Wi-Fi and a thermostat on Xcel's list. Apartments, condos and mobile homes are excluded.
- You can't be in AC Rewards and Saver's Switch at the same time.
- A system that can't recover after an event usually needs service, not a different program.
For most single-family homes with central air, an eligible smart thermostat and an air conditioner that keeps up on hot afternoons, AC Rewards is worth joining. It's Xcel Energy's smart-thermostat demand-response program in Minnesota: on the hottest summer days, when electricity demand peaks, Xcel adjusts your enrolled thermostat to cut back how long your central air runs. In exchange, Xcel pays a one-time enrollment credit and an annual reward, and you can opt out of events. We leave the amounts out on purpose; they change, and Xcel's AC Rewards page has the current numbers.
The real question isn't the reward. It's whether your house and your air conditioner can take a few warm afternoons without anyone minding.
How does an AC Rewards event work?
Xcel describes control events as possible any time during the cooling season. During an event, Xcel adjusts your smart thermostat so the AC runs less. You can get optional notifications from the thermostat, your phone or the web app, and you can opt out of an event whenever you want. The one exception, per Xcel: on rare occasions a system emergency may trigger an event that can't be overridden.
Nothing is installed on your outdoor unit. The whole program runs through the thermostat.
Who can enroll in Xcel's AC Rewards program?
From Xcel's current eligibility rules:
- You're a Minnesota Xcel Energy residential electric customer with central air conditioning.
- You have an eligible smart thermostat on Xcel's list, and Wi-Fi.
- You don't live in an apartment, condominium or mobile home.
- You're not on Saver's Switch. You can't be in both, and switching deactivates the Saver's Switch device and ends its bill credits.
How to enroll, step by step
- Check the rules above, including Saver's Switch. If you're on it now, decide which program you'd rather keep.
- Get an eligible thermostat. Xcel's list includes models from Honeywell Home, ecobee, Sensi and Google Nest. You can buy one through the Xcel Energy Store, where an instant rebate comes off at checkout; buy one elsewhere or have a contractor install it, then apply for Xcel's smart thermostat rebate by September 30 of the year after installation; or, in a single-family home, have Xcel install an Emerson Sensi Touch at no cost.
- Give it steady power and Wi-Fi. Many smart thermostats need a common wire; our C-wire guide explains what to do if yours doesn't have one.
- Enroll online with your thermostat account login and the email or phone number tied to that account.
- Turn on event notifications, so you know when to pre-cool or opt out.
If you're still picking a thermostat, our smart thermostat guide and our Honeywell vs Sensi comparison cover the options.
AC Rewards vs Saver's Switch
Xcel runs two summer programs for central air, and you pick one. Details on the second are on Xcel's Saver's Switch page.
| Detail | AC Rewards | Saver's Switch |
|---|---|---|
| How it controls the AC | Adjusts your smart thermostat | A switch cycles the AC off and on, generally at 15 to 20 minute intervals, with the fan still running |
| When | Any time during the cooling season, on peak days | A few hot summer days a year, typically 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Opting out | Any time, except rare system emergencies | Xcel's page doesn't describe an opt-out |
| What you need | Eligible smart thermostat and Wi-Fi | Central AC in a participating area; not rooftop, window or wall units |
| Reward | Enrollment credit plus an annual reward | Bill credit on June through September bills |
If you already own a qualifying smart thermostat and like being able to override, AC Rewards is the more flexible of the two. If you don't want a smart thermostat, or you'd rather not think about events at all, Saver's Switch is the hands-off option.
What does an AC Rewards event feel like in a Minnesota house?
On a dry 88-degree day, most well-insulated houses coast through an event without anyone noticing. On a sticky afternoon with a dew point in the 70s, you'll notice more, because an AC that runs less also removes less moisture.
Some houses feel it more than others:
- Upstairs bedrooms in 1.5-story and older two-story homes. They already run warm, and they warm up first. Our guide to uneven home temperatures covers why.
- Houses with west-facing glass, which pick up the most heat in late afternoon.
- Systems that barely keep up on hot days. If your AC trails the setpoint every afternoon in July, an event makes that worse.
Pre-cooling helps. Setting the thermostat a couple of degrees cooler earlier in the day lets the house and furniture start the afternoon cooler, so it drifts less once an event begins. Many smart thermostats can schedule that for you. Closing the blinds on west and south windows before the afternoon sun helps too.
Is AC Rewards hard on your air conditioner?
Not in any way we'd worry about. A thermostat adjustment asks the system to run less, not to do anything unusual. What events do reveal is a system in poor shape. If the house takes hours to recover afterward, look at the usual suspects: a dirty filter, a condenser coil packed with cottonwood, a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge. A spring tune-up catches most of those, and our spring AC checklist lists what we check. If the AC is already struggling in July, don't wait for next spring; our page on AC repair in Minneapolis covers what a service call there looks like.
One caution for owners of communicating systems, such as some high-end Carrier, Trane and Lennox equipment that uses the manufacturer's own control. Those controls aren't on Xcel's list. Swapping to a third-party smart thermostat to enroll can turn off features the system was designed around, so ask before you change it.
Before your first summer enrolled
A little prep keeps events from turning into complaints:
- Put in a fresh filter before the first hot week.
- Rinse the cottonwood off the outdoor coil once the trees finish shedding in June, with the power to the condenser off.
- Make sure the condensate drain runs, so the AC can keep pulling water out on sticky days.
- Check that the thermostat stays online. One that keeps dropping Wi-Fi is usually short on power or signal, and while it's offline you can't see an event or manage it from your phone.
- Set a pre-cool schedule for weekday afternoons.
- Show everyone in the house how to opt out in the app, so nobody has to sweat it out waiting for you.
Xcel describes events only during the cooling season, so your winter heating schedule isn't part of the program.
Our take
Enroll if you own a single-family home with central air, have or want an eligible smart thermostat, and your AC keeps up on hot days. Skip it, or opt out freely, if someone in the house needs steady cooling for health reasons, or if your upstairs already runs too warm.
If your AC struggles to recover after events, or you want an eligible thermostat wired in properly, we can help. See our thermostat service page, or book a maintenance visit before next summer, and ask us about a maintenance plan if you'd rather not have to remember. Repair calls carry a $79 trip charge, waived when you approve the repair. For how AC Rewards fits with Xcel's other programs, see our Xcel and CenterPoint rebate map. Call 612-429-3465, open 7 days, 7am–9pm.
Questions
Can I override an AC Rewards event?
Yes. Xcel says you can opt out of control events at any time, and you can get optional notifications from your thermostat, phone or web app. The exception is rare: Xcel says a system emergency may cause a control event that can't be overridden. Opting out of an event on a hot evening before guests arrive is exactly what the feature is for.
Which thermostats work with AC Rewards?
Xcel's list includes Honeywell Home's T5 and T9 plus two older Honeywell Wi-Fi models, ecobee's Smart Thermostat Enhanced, Premium and Voice Control models and the ecobee3 lite, Sensi's Touch, Touch 2, Classic and Lite, and Google's Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat. The list changes, so check Xcel's current page for your exact model before you buy a thermostat to enroll.
Can I do both AC Rewards and Saver's Switch?
No. Xcel says you can't participate in both. If you're on Saver's Switch and move to AC Rewards, the Saver's Switch device is deactivated and its bill credits stop. Saver's Switch cycles the outdoor unit off and on during control days, while AC Rewards works through your smart thermostat.
Can I join AC Rewards if I live in a condo?
Not under Xcel's current rules. AC Rewards excludes apartments, condominiums and mobile homes. Gas-only Xcel customers can still get Xcel's smart thermostat rebate, but they can't enroll unless they also have Xcel electric service and central air. Saver's Switch has its own condo rule: you need the owner's approval and an AC of your own, outside at ground level.
Sources
- AC Rewards page mn.my.xcelenergy.com
- Saver's Switch page mn.my.xcelenergy.com