scheduling for peak use period

[collaborative]

I'm hoping to set the Nest schedule to align with Ameren's TOU rates. My electricity is most expensive during the summer between 3pm and 8pm. Here is what I would like it to do:

• Pre-cool my house by 3 degrees before 3pm
• No cooling between 3pm and 8pm (Peak period)
• At 8pm, resume cooling

How do I schedule manually? The schedule calendar in the app and online is primitive and it's not clear how to do this and have that schedule work for the summer period (June through September). I hope to adjust as well for the winter rate schedule to avoid running heating equipment between 6-8AM and 6-8PM (October through May).

The UX is opaque on how to set a schedule to avoid peak use charges and am hoping that someone here (or someone at Nest who reads this) can help.

thanks

[Guarcax · Accepted solution]

Hi there!

Thanks for posting in the community.
I’m sorry for the inconvenience that you’ve been experiencing when trying to create a schedule for your Nest thermostat. I understand that you want to create a schedule for summer that should always be cooling instead for the hours between 3 PM and 8 PM. No worries, help is here. 

To give you the correct assistance, I need some extra information. Then here are some questions for you:

• What is the model of your Nest Thermostat?
• Does your Nest thermostat work on the Nest app or in the Google Home app?
• Have you ever created a schedule before?

In the meantime, you can check the following articles for further information: How to tell which Nest thermostat you have and Temperature schedules for the Nest thermostat. 

I will be waiting for your response.

Regards,

Daniel.

[collaborative]

Thanks for following up.

Base model is indicated as 4.2.8 / 3.1

Display is 2.8 / 5.9.5 / 5

I am using Nest App.

Originally, I created a summer schedule to start temp settings appropriate for the rate schedule used by Ameren. The peak rate period is between 3PM and 8PM. Cooling mode is permitted only outside of this peak rate period. This was done consistent with the instructions at the link you posted. This is the only schedule in the tstat (I don't see a means of creating two schedules to toggle as the rate seasons roll over). The winter schedule has two peak periods that I would like to include and some nuance as I will be coordinating the electric and gas rate schedules (Spire is the gas utility and does not have TOU rates but does impose higher rates above a base usage, so efficiency during electric peak periods is somewhat rewarded). The winter electric peak periods are 6-8AM and 6-8PM. I would like to preheat from 4-5AM and from 4-5PM, have no operation during peak rate periods and have normal operation during other periods. Ideally - I would be able to save the summer and winter schedules and have them automatically start and stop on the appropriate start/stop dates of each rate period (summer and winter).

summary questions for set up -

How can I set up this nest with a library of two saved tstat schedules (summer and winter)?

How can I set up this nest with a single schedule that changes operation to suit each summer and winter schedule?

Bonus question 

Does nest know of a product that would have a controllable diffuser in separate zones of a house to allow better zone control? Our arrangement has the tstat as the sensor at the main floor. This keeps the main floor at target temperature in the summer while the lower floor overcools and the top floor overheats.

thanks again,

j

[Guarcax]

Hi there!

Thanks for your reply.
I’m glad to hear the previous post helped you to create a schedule for winter. I understand that you still have some questions to solve. No worries, I’m happy to help you find a solution to them. 

I understand that you want to have your Nest Thermostat preheating during some hours of the day all days. If you have a radiant system, I can suggest you check the True Radiant on your thermostat, it will help you to preheat and to adjust a max duration for this. If you don’t have a radiant system or an in-floor radiant system, you will need to manually create a schedule that works as you want it. 

I also understand that you want to have a library to create a schedule for summer and winter, but at this moment we are still working on having that feature in the future. You will need to manually create the schedule each winter and each summer. But you can fill out the feedback form and put your suggestions, and our experts will start to work on them.

You can check the following articles for further information: Temperature schedules for the Nest Learning Thermostat and  True Radiant. 

Keep me posted.

Regards,

Daniel.