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Nest thermostat temperature modes

Depending on your system type and thermostat model, your Google Nest thermostat can have up to 5 available modes: Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool, Off, and Eco. This article covers what each mode does and how to manually switch between them.

Important things to know:

  • Your thermostat can automatically switch between modes, but you can also manually set the mode you want. 
  • Both your thermostat and system will behave differently, depending on what mode your thermostat is set to.
  • Heat, Cool, and Heat • Cool modes each have their own temperature schedule.

Switch to Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool, or Off mode

Important: Heat, Cool, and Heat • Cool modes each have their own temperature schedule. When you switch modes, your thermostat might turn your system on and off at different times, depending on the mode’s schedule.

Home app

  1. Open the Home app Google Home app.
  2. Tap Favorites or Devices .
  3. Tap your thermostat.
  4. Tap the Temperature mode icon. The icon will be different, depending on what mode your thermostat is currently in.
  5. Choose the mode you want to use.

Nest app

Note: The Nest app is only compatible with the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen or earlier).
  1. On the home screen, select your thermostat.
  2. Tap Mode Thermostat off icon.
  3. Choose the mode you want.

On the thermostat

Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen):

Set to Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool or Off mode

  1. Press the thermostat toward the wall to open the menu.
  2. Turn the dial to highlight Mode and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
  3. Turn the dial to highlight the mode you want to set, and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
  4. If you set your thermostat to heat or cool, turn the dial to select your preferred temperature.
Nest Thermostat 3/4ths view

Nest Thermostat:

Set to Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool or Eco mode

  1. Tap the touch bar to open the Menu view.
  2. Slide your finger to Temperature mode, then tap to select.
  3. Slide your finger to the mode you want, then tap to set it.

Set to Off mode

  1. Press and hold the touch bar until “Turn off” appears on the screen.
  2. Slide the touch bar to highlight Turn off  tap the touch bar to select.
Nest thermostat e heating

Nest Thermostat E:

  1. Press the thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
  2. Turn the ring to the mode you want, then press to select it.

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier):

  1. Press the thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
  2. Turn the ring to Mode Thermostat off icon and press to select.
  3. Turn the ring to choose a mode, then press to activate it.
  4. Press again to confirm.

Switch to Eco Temperatures

You can quickly switch your thermostat to Eco Temperatures much like you switch to other modes. For complete details on how Eco Temperatures work please go to Learn about Eco Temperatures.

Google Home app

Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen):

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Tap Favorites or Devices .
  3. Tap your thermostat.
  4. Tap Hold and then Eco.
Select the duration Eco mode should stay active and then Start hold. Your thermostat display will show “Eco hold” on the screen when this mode is active.
Nest Thermostat 3/4ths view

Nest Thermostat:

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Tap Favorites or Devices .
  3. Tap your thermostat.
  4. Tap Temperature preset Temperature preset, then select Eco.

Nest thermostat e heating

Nest Thermostat E or Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier):

  1.  Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Tap Favorites or Devices .
  3. Tap your thermostat.
  4. Tap the temperature mode icon at the lower left.
    The icon will change depending on which mode
    your thermostat is currently in.
  5. Select Eco.

Nest app

Note: The Nest app is only compatible with the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier).
  1. On the home screen, select your thermostat.
  2. Select Eco leaf icon .
  3. Tap Start Eco. If you have more than one thermostat, select whether you want to start Eco Temperatures only on the thermostat you’ve chosen or all thermostats.

On the thermostat

Note: You can switch to Eco directly on the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat only. The Nest Thermostat does not have Eco mode. Instead, you can use the Eco preset in the Home app as your Nest Thermostat heats or cools your home.

Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen)

  1. Press the thermostat display toward the wall to open the menu.
  2. Rotate the dial to highlight Eco and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
  3. Press the thermostat toward the wall to confirm your selection.
Note: If you turn on Eco hold, it overrides your other scheduled temps until the hold ends.

To end an Eco hold:

  1. Press the thermostat display toward the wall to open the menu.
  2. Rotate the dial to highlight Eco and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
  3. Press the thermostat toward the wall to confirm you want to turn off Eco hold.

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier) and Nest Thermostat E

  1. Press the thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
  2. Turn to Eco leaf icon and press to select.
  3. Select Start Eco.
Note: If your thermostat is already set to Eco, select Stop Eco and your thermostat will return to its regular temperature schedule.

What each mode does

Important things to know

  • Your thermostat can automatically switch between modes, but you can manually set the mode you want too. 
  • Both your thermostat and system will behave differently depending on what mode your thermostat is set to.
  • You may not find all 5 modes in the app or on your thermostat. For instance, if your home only has a heating system, you won’t find Cool or Heat • Cool.
Home app Nest app  
Heat  
Heat mode Thermostat heat icon
  • Your system will only heat your home. It won’t start cooling unless your Safety Temperatures are reached.
  • Your thermostat will start heating to try to maintain any scheduled temperatures or a temperature you’ve manually selected.
Cool  
Cool mode Thermostat cool icon
  • Your system will only cool your home. It won’t start heating unless your Safety Temperatures are reached.
  • Your thermostat will start cooling to try to maintain any scheduled temperatures or a temperature you’ve manually selected.
Heat • Cool  
Heat Cool mode Thermostat heat and cool icon
  • Your system will either heat or cool to try to keep your home within the temperature range you’ve manually set.
  • Your thermostat will automatically switch your system between heating and cooling as needed to meet any scheduled temperatures or a temperature you’ve manually selected.
  • This mode is useful for climates that consistently require both heating and cooling on the same day. For example, you might need this mode if you live in a desert climate and require cooling during the day and heating at night.
Off  
Off mode Thermostat off icon
  • When your thermostat is set to Off, it’ll only heat or cool to try to maintain your Safety Temperatures. All other heating, cooling, and fan control are disabled.
  • Your system won’t turn on to meet any scheduled temperatures, and you won’t be able to manually change the temperature until you switch your thermostat to another mode.

Learn more about Off mode
Eco  
Leaf leaf icon
  • Your system will either heat or cool to try to keep your home within the Eco Temperatures range.
  • Only the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat have Eco mode. For the Nest Thermostat, use the Eco preset to quickly adjust to energy-saving temperatures manually or in its temperature schedule. Go to the “Eco temperatures” section to learn more.
The high and low Eco Temperatures are set during thermostat installation, but you can change them at any time.
Preset  
Temperature preset  
  • For Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) and Nest Thermostat, you can quickly switch to your custom temperature presets: Comfort, Eco, Sleep or your custom presets.
  • To adjust your preset temperatures, go to Thermostat Settings  Temperature preferences  Temperature presets.
Note: Heat, Cool, and Heat • Cool modes each have their own temperature schedule. If you want to make changes to the schedule, be sure you choose the right one.

How Eco temperatures work

For the Nest Thermostat, use the Eco preset to quickly adjust to energy-saving temperatures manually or in its temperature schedule.

  • When you manually set the Eco preset, it’ll be overridden by the next temperature set in the schedule.
  • If you want to use Eco temperatures for longer without changing the temperature schedule, hold the Eco preset temperature.

For the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, switch to Eco the same way as other temperature modes. However, there are some key differences in how your thermostat will behave in Eco compared to other modes:

  • When you manually switch to Eco, your thermostat will ignore all scheduled temperatures until you manually switch it back to heating or cooling.
  • If your thermostat automatically switched to Eco Temperatures because everyone was away, it’ll switch back to your normal temperatures when someone comes home.

Learn about Eco Temperatures and how to change settings

 

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