08-26-2022 09:54 AM
This simple feature has yet to be addressed is still a feature required to stay competitive and should be looked at seriously by the Nest developers.
"The Nest Temperature Sensors seemed like the perfect add-on to the Nest Thermostat to help me ensure that the right part of the house (i.e. the downstairs) was a comfortable temperature when I wanted it to be. The idea was that a user would place the Temperature Sensors in different rooms/floors, and then select which sensor the thermostat would base its heating/cooling activities on... so I could make sure my downstairs was warmer during the day in winter, but then in the evening make sure my upstairs with the bedrooms were warm. But there's a major flaw that kills my ability to make this all happen:
A user cannot customize or adjust the Temperature Sensor schedule beyond pre-defined hourly blocks. So if your life and schedules doesn't happen to perfectly align with the 4 arbitrary windows of time that Google/Nest defined as Morning (7 AM - 11 AM), Midday (11 AM - 4 PM), Evening (4 PM - 9 PM), Night (9 PM - 7 AM)... you can't make any adjustment at all to the sensor schedule (see image below):
The Problem:
Many homes/townhomes/condos are like mine -- imbalanced heating/cooling of certain areas, and a single zone for the thermostat. For example, my main floor is quite cold in the winter, and by the time the Thermostat has finished heating the main floor, the upstairs (which is always warmer than the main floor) has become uncomfortably hot, like a sauna.
My goal is to have the thermostat focus on controlling the temperature on the main floor for certain hours of the day - like the hours that my daughter is awake and playing down there - but then focus on controlling the temperature in her nursery for her nap and when she's sleeping at night by automatically switching which sensor it's operating off of at the time that I need it to switch.
But my daughter's sleeping/nap schedule doesn't fit with the pre-defined sensor schedule... let's take the cold months of the year as an example (we live in Utah, and it's cold for 4+ months of the year). My daughter always sleeps until about 8:30 AM every day; until 8:30 AM, I need Nest to operate based off of the sensor in my daughter's room. But after 8:30 AM, I need Nest to operate based on the sensor in my living room in order to to be able to start heating the main floor (think of life in the winter in a cold state like mine) so she can play down there, eat breakfast, etc... but right now the only option is to automatically change the sensor is 7:00 AM (the "Morning" block), or we have to wait until 11:00 AM. So we have to manually adjust the sensor at 8:30 AM every day.
Then, my daughter takes a nap at 12:30 PM every day - so again, I need to be able to switch to the sensor in her room at 12:30 PM (and my only option right now is 11:00 AM for the "Midday" block), and then switch the sensor again automatically to the one on the main floor at 3 PM when she wakes up. If it has to switch the to main floor sensor at 11:00 AM to heat things up, which is the pre-defined schedule, her room will be too hot for her nap.
As such -- because of these predefined/arbitrary time blocks - I just literally can't use the sensor schedule function. I have to manually adjust the thermostat 3-4 times a day, just to get my home's temperatures more comfortable for my toddler. There's nothing "smart" or automated about that.
The Solution:
I simply need the ability to define what hours constitute each of the 4 blocks of time in order to automatically switch to the correct sensor at the right time. Every "dumb" thermostat I've ever used can do this -- from Honeywell to GE -- and most "smart" thermostats that I'm aware of let a user do this as well. Just not Nest.
For example, this is what I would need to define the 4 blocks of the day as to make this fit my needs and use case perfectly:
This will be different for each of your users/customers based on their home, their HVAC setup, their families, etc. -- so just let us choose the times ourselves for sensor switching, and this would be perfect.
Would someone from Google please let me know if they want to talk this through, and indicate if this is something that can be worked on or will be worked on?
I'd prefer to stay a Google customer... but I just can't justify it when every competitive option I'm looking at does this very simple customization, and we just don't want another uncomfortable winter in our home."
09-29-2022 05:17 AM
Google is not interested in adding this basic feature, but they ignore any inquiry as to why they won't include this feature. Every time I've posted a request for multiple schedules or any alteration to their presets, I get the same canned response along the lines of "my opinion is important and it will be used as feedback as they strive to make improvements"
10-05-2022 09:35 AM
Hi folks,
We hear you. Our team is working hard to deliver the best experience for our users — we'll take this as feedback. Keep your eye on the Google Nest Community page for any updates. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.
Check out this link on how to file feedback.
Thanks,
Edward
10-05-2022 09:41 AM
I have another question. Why is it necessary to lock down conversations for people asking for a simple fix? With all due respect I do not believe that the "team" is "working hard" on this issue because it has been raised by many users for many years and the programming required to achieve the desired result is not complex in any way.
I'm requesting that you do not lock down the thread until you have provided an answer as to why Google is choosing NOT to add this feature. Perhaps the team can work hard on clarifying that for us.
10-06-2022 04:23 PM
Hi folks,
I know how important this is for you. Rest assured that we'll take this as feedback and pass it along to the right team. We'll learn from this to deliver a better process and experience in the future.
Rest assured that we'll take note of it — we'll ensure that we'll learn from your experience as we continually improve our products and services.
Thanks,
Edward
10-10-2022 12:41 PM
Hey everyone,
As Edward mentioned, your feedback is important and is being passed along to our internal teams. Aside from the feedback needed, is there anything else I can do here? If you have any additional needs, please let me know.
Thanks,
Jeff
10-11-2022 05:01 AM
There is another thing you can do. Please clarify how long it typically takes to pass along feedback to the internal teams. This feedback was first provided (and supported by other users) 4 years ago (and probably earlier by others). Can you please make the process of providing feedback more transparent so that we actually believe you that it is happening? Also, can you please clarify why this bit of feedback has been largely ignored over the last few years?
I'll be looking forward to a response that isn't just an empty statement about how our "feedback is important" following up by years of inaction.
Thanks
11-07-2022 10:03 AM
Hi davidbutts77,
The feedback process happens on several levels. I can't go into details about it because I don't manage that. I can tell you that feedback through the Home app is delivered directly and immediately to internal teams at Google. Feedback through the forum is collected by different teams and passed along as well, but it's not as immediate as submitting your own feedback on the Home app. Both forms of feedback are reviewed and given to the appropriate teams. And yes, feedback is important and wanted, be it a suggestion, criticism, a report of a problem, or a request for new features.
Thanks,
Jeff
11-07-2022 02:39 PM
So you are a "community specialist" on a forum, yet you do not manage the process of feedback? Does that not seem inherently flawed to you as well, or am I missing something?
The specific feedback of wanting more control over a schedule/multiple schedules is not at all new (nor is it difficult to resolve). This single bit of feedback has been made repeatedly through the Home app and via forums, yet we never get a response addressing the actual concern in any meaningful way. I hope you can see why it is very difficult for many users to believe that feedback is actually valued. Perhaps you can "pass along to the appropriate team" that a response to our concerns from an actual party that knows what is going on would be strongly desired. In the meantime, I suppose I will continue to give my honest report of the quality of Google Nest Thermostat and the corresponding commitment to customer service to all that ask me for my feedback.
12-08-2022 05:14 AM
Jeff, robot/ AI guy..
This fix has been asked for and requested by many forum members for years.
'So i can't really do into all the levels' of frustration it brings when there is still no solution given to this issue.
I will anticipate your canned response.
G'day!
04-28-2023 05:38 AM
Pushing 6 months since your last reply. Can someone please address the questions being raised here? Allow me to summarize:
Thank you
12-08-2022 05:10 AM
Your canned AI response is below from 2 months ago with still no solution....
10-05-2022 09:53 AM
Agreed with David and am here to keep this ticket open until an actual resolution is received.
04-16-2023 03:36 AM
Also struggling with not having this feature.
Google, is there an update if this is on the roadmap?