Learn about Eco Temperature and how to change settings

• Your Nest thermostat can automatically switch to Eco Temperature after it senses that nobody’s home. You’ll know Eco Temperature is active when you see Eco on your thermostat and in the Nest app.
• You can also manually set your thermostat to Eco Temperature anytime, even when you’re home. This can be useful if you want to try to save more energy while you’re at home, and you don’t mind it being a bit cooler than usual.
• When you manually set your thermostat to Eco Temperature, it will stay in that mode and won’t automatically switch back to heating until you manually switch it to one of those modes. Once you manually switch it to heating your thermostat will resume automatically switching as people leave and come back home.
• Your thermostat will also automatically switch to Eco Temperature if you manually switch your Nest home to Away mode with the Nest app.

• How Eco Temperature affects your system behavior:

When your thermostat is set to Eco, your system may still turn on in some cases:

• If your home’s temperature gets lower than the Heat to temperature you’ve set, your thermostat will turn on heating until your home warms to the Eco Temperature you set.
• Your thermostat won’t follow its usual temperature schedule when it’s set to Eco since it’s trying to help save energy.

Your Nest thermostat gives you a temperature range that you can select from when you set an Eco Temperature. The Eco Temperature range you can choose from is large: 40-70°F (4-21°C) for heating mode. Factors like home construction, local climates, heating system performance, and your personal comfort preference can vary widely. So we let you choose what you prefer and don’t make specific Eco Temperature recommendations, but you’ll find some general guidelines below to help you choose what’s right for your home.

1. Quick tips

• To maximize energy savings, choose a lower Heat to Eco Temperature. You’ll see the Nest Leaf next to temperatures that will typically save more energy, but you may not be as comfortable.
• If you’re concerned about comfort, choose a Heat to temperature that’s a little higher. You may not see a Nest Leaf next to the temperature you choose, but you’ll keep your home closer to your preferred temperature and you still may save some energy.
• If you choose Off for the Heat to temperature, your system won’t turn on at all when your thermostat is set to Eco unless your home gets very cold.
• It’s important to set Eco Temperature to a level that helps save energy, while making sure that things in your home (people, pets and plants) will be comfortable with the temperature you select.
• Finding an Eco Temperature that’s right for you will take some experimentation, but you can always change the setting if you’re uncomfortable or if you’re not saving as much energy as you like.

2. Look for the Leaf

When you’re choosing an Eco Temperature, you’ll get some guidance from the app or your thermostat, depending on which one you’re using to set it. The Nest Leaf  will appear to let you know you’ve chosen a temperature that can help save energy. The Leaf is only a general guide, so you may save energy even if you choose an Eco Temperature that doesn’t have a Leaf.

3. More help for choosing a temperature

Asking a few questions can help you figure out a good Eco Temperature to start with:

• What temperature did you set your old thermostat to?

  If you want to emphasize your comfort over energy savings, try a Heat to Eco Temperature a few degrees lower than what you typically left your old thermostat set to most of the time.

• If you ever changed your old thermostat’s temperature to save energy, what did you set it to?

  If you want to try balancing energy savings and comfort, and you:

  • had a programmed schedule for your old thermostat
  • manually changed the temperature when you left home

  Try selecting a slightly lower heating temperature than what you set your old thermostat to to save energy. Since your Nest thermostat will only automatically switch to the Eco Temperature when your home is unoccupied, you may not notice the temperature difference.

• What do you think is the lowest temperature that you would be OK with?

  If you really want to focus on saving energy, try setting your Heat to Eco Temperature a bit more aggressively, but don’t go beyond what you feel will be comfortable for you, other people, and your pets.

Example for choosing an Eco Temperature

Let’s say you like the temperature at 70°F (21°C) when you’re home. You decide to pick 62°F (16.5°C) as an Eco Temperature to start. That difference may seem large, but you know your home is well insulated and your system heats your home fairly quickly. So you can try to save more energy while still remaining pretty comfortable.

On the other hand, if your home isn’t well insulated and your system is slow to heat it, you might decide on 65°F (18°C) instead. Being less aggressive on Eco Temperature energy savings can keep you more comfortable since your home should take less time to reach your preferred temperature after your thermostat switches out of Eco.

4. Change it if you don't like it

Check your monthly Nest Home Report to see how much energy you’re using. If the Eco Temperature you selected isn’t saving as much energy as you would like, or if your home takes too long to get comfortable when you get home, simply change the Eco Temperature with your thermostat or the app.

Manually switching your thermostat to Eco Temperature can be useful if you want to try to save more energy while you’re at home, if you don’t mind it being a bit cooler than usual.

This can also be useful for when you’ll be away for a day or on a short trip. So when your neighbor comes over for a few minutes to feed your cat, your system won’t turn on and start heating your home. However, you may want to set your thermostat to Off mode if you’re going on vacation or won’t be home for an extended period.

You can manually switch to Eco Temperature whenever you want with the app or the thermostat. Simply choose Eco where you switch your system’s mode. When you manually activate Eco Temperature, your thermostat will immediately switch. There won’t be any delay.

Behaviors when manually switching to Eco Temperature

Your thermostat and system behaviors are different when you manually switch to Eco Temperature compared to when it’s automatically set:

• It will maintain Eco Temperature even if Home/Away Assist senses that you’re at home.
• It won’t switch back to your regular temperature schedule until you manually switch it to heating mode.
• If you have more than one thermostat in your home, you’ll have to switch each of them to Eco Temperature individually.
• Manually setting your thermostat to Eco Temperature won’t switch your home between Home or Away modes. So it won’t affect any of the other products in your home. For instance, it won’t switch your cameras on or off.
• If you use the Nest app to set your Nest home to Away mode, all your thermostats will switch automatically to Eco Temperature. They’ll switch back to heating when someone comes home or if they sense motion.
• Your home’s Away mode is always automatic. Even if you manually set your home to Away, it will switch back to Home mode if your thermostat sees activity or if a phone that’s set to help with Home/Away Assist enters the house.