How to prevent temperature dropping below a set temperature at night

[swisski]

Hello,

I've tried to research my issue, but haven't found a solid answer. For the most part our thermostat regulates well most of the year. However during cold spells is when we really have an issue. We simply don't want our house to drop below a certain point, especially downstairs. Our insulation could probably be better but that is another issue. 

We currently have the nest sitting downstairs in our main living area, and a sensor in our Son's room. We use a combo between the app and the actual thermostat to control temperatures. 

What I'm trying to achieve is not letting the temp drop below 64 on these super cold nights we've been having, since our house takes quite a while to warm up. However we keep waking up to a downstairs that is 58 degrees, while our upstairs and my son's room will be about 62 degrees. 

We have auto schedule set to on. I just turned on early on yesterday and set it to 5 hours, which didn't seem to change anything for this morning. I also set eco temp to 64 degrees, but I clearly am not understanding how that is working no matter how many times I read over it. 

I just want our house to not drop below 64 degrees while we have this cold spell.

Any insight or help would be most appreciated!

Thanks in advance

[zoeuvre]

Hi swisski, 

Thanks for reaching out to us. I understand your concern about maintaining a minimum temperature during cold spells. To ensure that your house doesn't drop below 64 degrees Fahrenheit, there are a few adjustments you can make with your Nest Thermostat settings:

1. In the Nest app or on the thermostat itself, you can set your desired temperature to 64 degrees Fahrenheit. This will serve as your target temperature, and the thermostat will work to maintain the temperature as close to this set point as possible.
2. Eco mode is designed to save energy by allowing the temperature to drift outside of your preferred range. Since you want to maintain a minimum temperature, it's best to disable Eco mode. In the Nest app, go to the thermostat settings and turn off Eco mode or adjust the Eco temperature to a higher value than 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. The Schedule feature allows you to create a heating schedule based on your preferred temperature settings for different times of the day. Set a schedule that keeps the temperature at or above 64 degrees Fahrenheit during the periods when you want to maintain the minimum temperature, such as overnight or during the cold spells.
4. If you have additional temperature sensors, like the one in your son's room, you can use them to prioritize heating in specific areas of your home. In the Nest app, you can create a sensor schedule which directs the thermostat to focus on maintaining the desired temperature in the rooms where the sensors are placed.
5. As you mentioned that your house takes a while to warm up and has insulation concerns, it's worth inspecting for any drafts or areas where heat loss may occur. Ensure windows and doors are properly sealed, and consider adding insulation in areas that need improvement. Addressing these issues can help retain the desired temperature more effectively.

Let us know if that helps.

Best,

Zoe