Nest thermostat requires you to stop the fan just to add time

[Gaudetmi]

I don’t understand why the Nest requires you to stop the fan to extend the runtime.

For example, I set the fan to run for 2 hours. I walked by it and it said there was about 5 minutes left of runtime. The Nest UI forces you to Stop the fan, dumps you back to the main screen, so you have to hit Fan again, and then set the new time, and hit Start. 

In the app, that’s four taps (Fan, Stop, Fan, (scroll to time), 

On the physical device, it’s similar (rotate to Fan, stop, which brings you back to the main menu; rotate to fan again, rotate to select the time, start).

This doesn’t make any sense. This thermostat is smart enough to learn heating/cooling patterns, but it can’t just extend the time it sends the fan signal? Stopping and restarting the fan just to add time can’t be great for the hardware. If the fan is running, you should be able to control the time remaining the same way heating/cooling works: just rotate the dial left/right to add/subtract more runtime.

[zoeuvre]

Hi Gaudetmi, 

Yikes! Let's see what's going on. 

The Nest Thermostat is designed for user-friendliness and simplicity. To adjust fan runtime, you need to stop the fan, return to the main screen, and set a new runtime. This ensures a clear starting point and maintains consistency with other thermostat settings. However, adjusting fan runtime directly while running may introduce technical challenges and trade-offs. The Nest Thermostat is designed to handle frequent starts and stops without significant hardware damage, and the fan motor and related components are built to handle frequent starts and stops without significant wear or damage.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Best,

Zoe 

[Gaudetmi]

Thanks for your response Zoe!

While I understand the need for a consistent user workflow, I disagree that this is consistent with other actions.

You don’t need to turn off the heat or the air conditioner to set a new temperature; you simply turn the temperature up and the heater runs for a longer time. If you want it colder, you turn it down and the AC continues running until it reaches the new target temperature. To set a new schedule, you can adjust the time from the current set point, you don’t need to delete it and add it from scratch.

[zoeuvre]

Hi there, 

I'm sorry if my previous responses implied otherwise or caused any confusion. Thank you for pointing out the inconsistency, and I appreciate your feedback. You are right in saying that changing the thermostat setting usually involves not shutting off the heating or cooling system. They let you increase or decrease the temperature, and the system will respond to reach the new set target temperature.

Similarly, when creating a new schedule on a thermostat, you could usually work with the original schedule by changing the time and temperatures settings. This way you can make changes without having to get rid of the entire schedule and start again from scratch.

Thanks,

Zoe