Nest Thermostat Schedules v Home/Away Assist

[Geoff2908]

I have just had the Nest Learning Thermostat installed as part of a brand-new heating system and I am trying to understand the logic in some of the features.

Overall, I like the Thermostat, but can anyone explain/confirm the interaction between Schedules and Home/Away Assist please?

I understand they work as follows:

Schedule: Set the thermostat to the required temperature at a selected time. The thermostat will try to ensure the heating has reached the required temperature by the selected time (assume 18° at 1630 as an example).

Home/Away Assist: Thermostat detects that you are away from the home and sets the temperature to Eco Temperature (the default is 9°). All schedules are disabled. Schedules are reactivated when the thermostat detects you are back home.

If the above is correct then:

When I am at home, the temperature will be c.18° at 1630.

When I am away and return home at 1630, with Home/Away Assist the temperature could be as low as 9°. Depending on the conditions, my house can go down to about 13° in winter conditions. 

So, this must mean that when using Home/Away Assist in colder conditions you will always arrive home to a cold house until the thermostat realises you are at home and reactivates the schedules.

Obviously, if I adjust the Eco Temperature from 9° to 18° it sort of defeats the object of the Home/Away Assist feature!

Options seem to be as follows:

• Don’t bother with the Home/Away Assist feature if you are only out for the day
• If you are on holiday, you will need to deactivate the Home/Away Assist on the way home so that you can come back to a warm house

Have I got this right?

Thanks

G

[zoeuvre]

Hi Geoff2908, 

Thanks for posting. Yes, you have understood the interaction between Schedules and Home/Away Assist correctly. You can set specific temperatures for different times of the day using the schedule feature. The thermostat will try to reach and maintain the desired temperature by the scheduled time. When the thermostat detects that you are away from home, it activates the Home/Away Assist feature. It sets the temperature to an eco temperature (default is 9°C) to save energy. All schedules are disabled during this time. When you return home, the thermostat detects your presence and switches back to your regular schedule.

Based on your understanding, if you are away and return home at 16:30, with Home/Away Assist enabled, the temperature could be as low as 9°C. In colder conditions, this means you may come home to a cold house until the thermostat detects your presence and reactivates the schedules. You are correct that adjusting the Eco Temperature to 18°C would defeat the purpose of the Home/Away Assist feature, as it would maintain a warmer temperature even when you're away. Considering your options, if you are only out for the day and prefer to come back to a warm house, you may choose not to use the Home/Away Assist feature and rely solely on the schedules to maintain the desired temperature. If you are on an extended absence like a vacation, you can deactivate the Home/Away Assist before returning home so that the thermostat resumes following your regular schedule, ensuring a warm house upon your arrival.

It's important to note that these options may vary depending on your specific preferences and lifestyle. You can experiment with the features and settings to find the setup that works best for you.

Let us know if that helps.

Best,

Zoe