When your heating or cooling turns on and off frequently it can use more energy and may increase wear on your system. To help prevent this, your Nest thermostat will wait to turn on your system.
This delay is commonly called the maintenance band, deadband, differential, or temperature swing. The delay is usually just a few minutes, but it’s there to help your system. Many thermostat brands and models also use the maintenance band to help prevent system wear.
How the maintenance band works
- The maintenance band allows the temperature in your home to change by a few degrees before turning on your system. You may notice a difference, but you should still be comfortable.
- When you manually change the temperature with your Nest thermostat or with the app, your system may turn on right away. Your thermostat will switch your system on when the room temperature is about 1°F (0.6°C) away from the set temperature, then it’ll run your system until the temperature is slightly beyond the target temperature that you’ve set.
- You’ll know that your Nest thermostat is set to turn on your system by the color of the screen. For example, if the screen is orange, your thermostat will turn on your heat, if it's blue, cooling will activate. You’ll also see the temperature screen change color in the app.
- The Nest thermostat maintenance band is not adjustable.
- The heating maintenance band is 0.7°F (0.4°C) above and below the target temperature.
- The cooling maintenance band is 1°F (0.6°C) above and below the target temperature.