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Nest Sets Temp Too Low

pjgfishing
Community Member

I keep my air conditioning set to 76 degrees.  When the Nest thinks I’m not home it reduces the set temp to 74 degrees even though I have the eco temp preference set to 78.  I come home to a cold house and wasted energy.

Besides having the eco temp set to 78 I can’t find any other option to set temperature preferences or a way to turn off the away from home nanny.

It’s a gen 3 model.  I didn’t have any issues while in the heat mode all winter.

Any ideas?

10 REPLIES 10

virnab
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi pjgfishing,

 

Thanks for reaching out to our community. I understand that your Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd gen is overriding your 78-degree Eco Temperature setting for AC and cooling your home to 74 degrees when you're out. That's definitely inconvenient, and I can see why you'd be concerned about your comfort and energy usage. Let's get this sorted out.

To help me get to the bottom of this, please answer a few questions:

  • When did this inconvenience start?
  • Are there any error messages? If so, what are they exactly?
  • Is this a new installation?
  • What kind of HVAC system do you have (e.g., heat pump, conventional system)?
  • When was the last maintenance check for your HVAC system?
  • Have there been any recent changes or upgrades to your HVAC system?
  • Is this the first time you're activating heating or cooling since the season changed?
  • Could you please check the power readouts on your Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd gen and post only the power information? Follow these instructions:
    • Press the thermostat's ring to bring up the Quick View menu.
    • Turn the ring to 'Settings' and press to select.
    • Turn the ring to 'Technical info' and press to select. Then select 'Power.'
    • Please post the following information: battery, Voc, and Vin.
  • Do you have a common ground wire or C wire?
  • Have you experienced any power outages within the last few days or weeks?

I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Best regards,

Virna

pjgfishing
Community Member

Verna - Thank you for responding.

My house is new construction so my HVAC conventional system is nine months old. I installed the Nest thermostat when I moved in last October.  Because it is a new system it has not been modified nor have there been any maintenance checks.  Nest and the gas forced air heating system worked ok thru the winter.  I have only experienced this problem since I switched to cooling mode for the first time in May.  My power readouts are Bat. 3.926, VOC 36.31, Vin 36.31, Lin 200 mA(c).  I’m not sure about a common ground wire - when I look at the google home app it shows the wiring connections as Y1 - cool, W1 - heat, G - fan, C - power, Rh - power.  There are no error messages.  I have not had any power outages.

When I was following your instructions to check the power information I saw the Home/Away option before I got to the power settings. I set it to off (I think) - I’m retired, live alone, and the thermostat is in a hallway leading to my bedroom so it doesn’t accurately detect if I’m home or away.  Many times I will hear the air conditioner running for a long time, feel the temperature dropping, and would look at my phone app to see the system in eco mode with a target temp of 74 even though I manually set the thermostat to 76 and have the eco mode temperature preference set to 78.

Any thoughts on why this is happening?

Thank you, Peter

 

pjgfishing
Community Member

Verna - Since I sent my reply to all your questions, I was outside doing yard work.  When I came in I checked the google home app - the thermostat was in Eco mode with a target temp of 74 again.  My attempt to Off Eco mode was apparently unsuccessful and the thermostat still wants to ignore the Eco temp preference of 78.

 

Peter

 

pjgfishing
Community Member

Verna - Peter again.  I was looking at the Nest app (not the google home app) on my phone and I found an option to, I think, turn off Eco mode. Fingers crossed.

 

virnab
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi pjgfishing,

 

Thanks for keeping me updated. I appreciate your detailed response, which allows me to provide you with better assistance. Based on the information you’ve shared, I recommend you perform the following instructions:

1.  Change Home/Away Assist settings: 

  1. Open the Nest app.
  2. Tap Settings, then Home/Away Assist.
  3. Choose Home or Away, then select the Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen).
  4. Switch off automatic switching.

2.  Turn off auto-schedule: 

  1. Open the Nest app.
  2. Tap Settings and select Auto-Schedule, then switch it off.

3.  Turn off schedule: 

  1. On your thermostat, select Settings, then Reset.
  2. Tap Schedule.
  3. Tap Reset or Clear.

After performing these steps, please wait 24 hours and then let me know if the issue is resolved.

 

Best regards,

Virna

 

pjgfishing
Community Member

Verna - I followed all your directions.  The thermostat counted down from 10 to 1 then restarted itself.  The display is now back to normal showing a set temp of 76.  We’re having a couple days of cooler weather so it may take a couple of days to see if the changes worked. Yesterday the only time the air conditioner ran was when the thermostat self set itself to 74. Thanks for your help, fingers crossed.

Peter

 

virnab
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi pjgfishing,

 

Thank you very much for letting me know that after the restart, the display is back to normal, showing the correct temperature. We'll wait a few days to ensure everything continues working correctly. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact this community.

 

Best regards,

Virna

Burns - It’s been a few days and my thermostat has not deviated from the set temp of 76.   When heating season starts I’m going to try turning the learning option back on and leave the Home Away assist off. Last winter I liked how it learned my usual schedule and it automatically lowered the temp when I went to bed and turned it back up about the time I got out of bed. 
Thanks for your help!  
Peter

 

Sorry, it autocorrected your name to Burns and I didn’t catch it. 

virnab
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi pjgfishing,

 

Thank you for the great news! I'm so happy that you were able to set your Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen) to a temperature that makes you feel comfortable at home. Congratulations!

If you have any other questions or need more assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us again.

 

Best regards, 

Virna