Hold temperature for 2 hours using Alexa?

[lidyamarszal]

Is there a way to hold a temperature (for when I leave the house for a few hours) using Alexa without setting this up on the Google Home app or using the Nest thermostat? I can give commands to Alexa saying turn thermostat off or turn thermostat on to auto. When I ask Alex to hold temperature on the thermostat for 2 hours or to lower the temperature to 60 degrees for 2 hours, Alexa responds with something like "Living room isn't responding" or "I'm not sure how  to help you with that". Is there a way to do this? 

[ByronP]

Hi lidyamarszal,

Thank you for posting in the community. I understand that you would like to use your Alexa device to give some commands to turn on your Nest thermostat without connecting it to a Google Home app. Let's work together on a solution. 

Currently, this option isn't available. You need to first connect your Alexa device to the Google Home App and your Nest Thermostat to use the desired commands. The devices need to be connected to work as part of the process to provide the necessary scripts to control your Nest Thermostat's heating or cooling.

In the mean time, please answer these questions:

• What type of Nest thermostat do you have?
• Did you try to set up routines to make your Nest Thermostat hold at a specific time to turn on the temperature as requested?

Let me know if you have any further questions and keep me posted. I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Byron

[lidyamarszal]

Hi Byron,

Thank you for your reply. My Alexa is already connected to my Google Nest Thermostat. For example, I can tell Alexa "Turn thermostat off" and it will turn off the thermostat. I just can't seem to figure out how to get Alexa to make my Google thermostat hold a temperature for a certain number of hours. 

 To answer your questions:

• What type of Nest thermostat do you have? It's the Google Nest Thermostat - Smart Thermostat for Home - Programmable WiFi Thermostat
• Did you try to set up routines to make your Nest Thermostat hold at a specific time to turn on the temperature as requested? I am not sure what you're referring to. Will this allow me to turn thermostat off only for 2 or 3 hours, and after that amount of time the thermostat would turn back on on its own?

[ByronP]

Hi lidyamarszal,

Thank you for your response.

That is correct. When you set up a routine on your Google Home app, it will allow you to set up the Nest Learning Thermostat to a specific time to turn on and hold for the 2 hours as you requested.

Here are the steps on how to do that:

1. Open the Google Home app.
2. Tap Automations and then Add, and then select Personal.
3. To name your routine, tap Untitled.

•  If you add a voice starter before you name your routine, the voice starter becomes the name.

      4. Add the starters and actions that you want.

•  Note: If your routine is set to start automatically and includes actions with audio, specify the device on which you want the audio to play. At the bottom, tap Play on and then select a device, and then tap Done.

      5. Tap Save.

Here is a good article on how to create and manage routines for Google Home Automations.

Let me know how it goes and keep me posted.

Regards,

Byron

[lidyamarszal]

Thanks Byron, I played around a bit but it's quite confusing. 

Would you be able to provide steps on how I set things up so that I say "Alexa, hold temperature at Eco for X hours". Then my Google Nest thermostat would lower the heating temperature to the Eco setting for the said number of hours.

Thank you!

[ByronP]

Hi lidyamarszal,

Thank you for your response.

Sure, here are the steps to create a routine:

Open the Google Home app.

Tap Automations and then Add, and then select Personal.

To name your routine, tap Untitled.

Add the starters and actions (ex. "Say, 'Hey Google, hold temperature at Nest Thermostat for X hours").

At the bottom, tap Play on and then select a device, and then tap Done.

Tap Save.

Note: If you can't create or run routines, you may need to change the language of your phone to one that is supported for your region.

Important: The native Alexa-Nest integration has some limitations that Nest Support should be aware of. Amazon and Nest will continue to work on improving your experience. Please note that some features or modes are unsupported from the Alexa device, so you should primarily use Google Home App and Nest Thermostat.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards,

Byron