Thermostat follows schedule not Eco when away

[cbriff]

My nest thermostats don't stay in Eco mode when away. Presence sensing is off and no one else has access. The thermostat just follows the schedule rather than staying in Eco mode when away. I called Google support and they confirmed that the schedule overides the automatic features. For the sheer life of me, why on earth would I want that to happen? If I did, I would just turn the Home'Away mode off!!

Is there some other setting or method to prevent this? When I am away I want the heating/cooling to stay in Eco mode. When I am home I want it to follow the schedule. I don't want to manually have to set it to Eco mode or delete my schedule (these were the useless suggestions made by Google support). If I had to do that I may as well just have a manual 'dumb' thermostat. What it appears Google is telling me, is that they have stopped Nest thermostats from being a 'smart thermostat', but instead made it a traditional 'dumb' thermostat but that I can operate it from my phone.

Please can someone provide the solution, or Google can you add a feature to be able to control this? Otherwise I'm off to buy an actual smart thermostat. Ecobee anyone?

[zoeuvre]

Hi cbriff, 

Uh-oh! I understand your frustration with the behavior of your Nest Thermostats not staying in Eco mode when you're away, despite disabling presence sensing and having no other users with access. Nest Thermostats are designed to follow the programmed schedule, aiming to balance energy savings and comfort. However, there is currently no built-in setting or method to prevent the schedule from overriding Eco mode when users are away, as some users may prefer Eco mode to be the default. Here are some fix for you: 

1. Adjust your schedule to suit your comfort and energy-saving needs, ensuring Eco mode is active during periods of absence, and adjust it to reflect your typical occupancy patterns.
2. Manually adjust the thermostat to Eco mode when away and switch back to the schedule when you return, if you don't want to modify the schedule, achieving your desired outcome without deleting it entirely.
3. Nest Thermostats can be integrated with third-party platforms and smart home systems, providing granular control over the thermostat's behavior. These platforms can customize away mode and schedule interactions, making it possible to explore integrations with platforms like Home Assistant for desired flexibility.

Let us know if that helps.

Best,

Zoe

[cbriff]

Thanks for the answer but this just confirms that the Google Nest Thermostat is pointless. Why have a Home/Away function that just gets overridden? Surely if someone wants the thermostat to run to a schedule, they simply wouldn't turn the Home/Away feature on. Essentially this thermostat is no better than a traditional one, where I have to either continually change the schedule, or have to manually turn Eco mode on and off. The only real difference to an old fashioned thermostat is that you can also manually control it with your phone.

I used to like the Nest thermostats, but for me, this issue makes these Google ones expensive pieces of junk. I will be replacing it with a something that actually works as a smart thermostat.

[zoeuvre]

Hi there, 

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing frustration with the Home/Away function of your thermostat. The purpose of the Home/Away feature is to automatically adjust the temperature based on whether or not someone is present in the home. It uses various sensors, such as motion sensors or geolocation, to determine occupancy and optimize energy efficiency. The intention behind this feature is to provide convenience and energy savings by automatically adjusting the temperature when no one is home, reducing energy consumption and saving money on utility bills. Learn more about Home/Away Assist in this article. 

Thanks,

Zoe

[cbriff]

I completely understand the purpose of the Home/Away feature. My complaint is that it doesn't work. My thermostat switches to Away mode, changes the temps to ECO temps, and then subsequently continues to follow the schedule as opposed to staying in ECO mode, even though it is is still in Away mode. If I wanted it to follow the schedule I would turn off Home/Away. What is the point in the Home/Away setting if the schedule overrides it whilst I am away?

Equally frustrating are the banal responses and lack of an option to address the problem.