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Nest Thermostat - Best Way to Use It?

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  • 05-02-2019 11:20am
    #1
    iancairns
    Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭


    Hey guys,
    Hoping someone can help me get the best out of my Nest's.
    I have two, one for upstairs and downstairs.
    Basically, ideally trying to keep the house at 19C whenever we're there.
    Our last gas bill was €500. This might be normal, not sure what everyones else is this time of year. 
    But I can't figure out looking at the history of each Nest why some days can differ so much vs other days?
    I have the same schedule for each day, at this stage I think best to turn of Home Assist as Im finding it annoying that the heats coming on at 9:30 before going to bed when there's no need for this.
    Same as just checked there that house is empty and I haven't got this time scheduled for heating to come on yet check app and there it is heating living room.
    Sometimes wish you could just have it schedule to come on for an hour here and there thats it.
    Can you have a look at below and see if this is how you would set it up?
    And also why are somedays the heats on for 12+ hours and others only a few hours.
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I've had them 6 months and still figuring out best way to use them.
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    #2
    lucast2007us
    Registered Users Posts: 801 ✭✭✭lucast2007us


    Don't know too much about gas how long was that last bill for?
    Is it 2 or 3 months?


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    #3
    iancairns
    Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭iancairns


    lucast2007us wrote: »
    Don't know too much about gas how long was that last bill for?
    Is it 2 or 3 months?
    2 months. Previous 2 months were approx €150. I think heat was just on way more due to colder winter months


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    #4
    Quantum24
    Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭Quantum24


    I have had the nest of two years. Have the heat set to 18c. Have you got home and away assist turned on and linked to all phones? The nest learns how long it takes to heat the room to the set temperature. That can take 2 or 3 hours but you can set it to only turn on 1 hour before you need the temperature. My last bill was €150. If you reduce the temperature at night mine is set to 14c and up to 18c for 6.30. Set up a schedule for when no one is in the house and it only comes on an hour before you get home.


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    #5
    ted1
    Registered Users Posts: 23,538 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    Your temperature is set for 19 degrees all day except between 6 am and 6pm where it’s set for 18.5

    The various 19 degrees you have throughout the do nothing

    Your schedule would do the same if you set it for 6:00 18.5 and 18:00 19.

    Some days use more because the temperature is colder and so the heating needs to work harder. Some days the house is empty and the heating won’t turn on.


    You need to understand it’s not a time clock That comes on and off at certain times. If the house drops below 19 or 18.5 it’ll kick in

    Are there people in your house all day?

    My gas bill is 600 euro for the year for a family of 5.

    19 is quite high for sleeping. Try 16. You are meant to lower your body temperature to help you sleep.


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    #6
    BrookieD
    Registered Users Posts: 2,705 ✭✭✭BrookieD


    My Input,
    Nest is set 16 most of the time which in effect is OFF - if temp goes below then it kicks in for a little while to heat up only if we are all in the house. If Nest cannot detect phones or movement then it remains off in ECO mode

    I have set up daily schedules for example on at 6:30 for 1hr to heat up for wife and kids. Off for rest of day and then an hour in the evening.

    I did switch it to auto schedule and learn but it went bonkers so just leave it with above... reduced heating bill to 450 ish for a year maybe less for small house family of 4


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    #7
    TommyKnocker
    Registered Users Posts: 3,829 ✭✭✭TommyKnocker


    iancairns wrote: »
    2 months. Previous 2 months were approx €150. I think heat was just on way more due to colder winter months
    If you are with Bord Gais then every second bill is estimated and its estimated off the last 3 or 5 years of bills I believe. I find a jump between bills too, where the estimated bill is always higher then when the meter is read. AFAIK you can supply your own meter readings if you wish, to avoid the estimation. There is information on their site about this. Might be worth looking into.


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    #8
    iancairns
    Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭iancairns


    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!


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    #9
    OfflerCrocGod
    Registered Users Posts: 6,317 ✭✭✭OfflerCrocGod


    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.


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    #10
    iancairns
    Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭iancairns


    OfflerCrocGod wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.
    Sorry didn't explain it well. If you are only meant to set two temperatures on the daily schedule as others above have suggested.
    If I set it for 6am - 19c and then 7pm for 19c.  What happens for the hours between 7pm and 6am. Someone above said it should be cooler in evening. I agree shouldn't be 14c. Ideally its 16/17c.
    If it's 7pm (19c) and 6am (19c) does that mean the heat stays on during night between these hours at 19c. Will this not be costly?
    Thanks


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    #11
    gar
    Registered Users Posts: 1,099 ✭✭✭gar


    For what its worth
    My daily routine is
    20 degrees at 7:00
    21 degrees at 17:30
    10 degrees at 22:00

    Nest turns the heat off when not in the house

    I set it to 10 so it doesnt come on during the night, even on cold nights the house doesnt go below 17/18.

    I have my nest in the hallway.

    Would another idea be to look at the amount of insulation in your attic?
    i had 100mm and then added 200mm and the difference in the amount of heat im using is huge.

    Additionally im using my nest to heat my water tank and we have a gas fire so my bills are higher. I do time it that the boiler is heating the tank at the some time as the heating in the morning if possible


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    #12
    ted1
    Registered Users Posts: 23,538 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    iancairns wrote: »
    OfflerCrocGod wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.
    Sorry didn't explain it well. If you are only meant to set two temperatures on the daily schedule as others above have suggested.
    If I set it for 6am - 19c and then 7pm for 19c.  What happens for the hours between 7pm and 6am. Someone above said it should be cooler in evening. I agree shouldn't be 14c. Ideally its 16/17c.
    If it's 7pm (19c) and 6am (19c) does that mean the heat stays on during night between these hours at 19c. Will this not be costly?
    Thanks

    It holds the temperature till it gets a new temperature. So if you set it for 19 at 7pm it will maintain this till 6am when the new temperature kicks in , if you set it for 29 then you’ve effectively set your house for 19 24 hours.


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    #13
    ted1
    Registered Users Posts: 23,538 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    iancairns wrote: »
    OfflerCrocGod wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.
    Sorry didn't explain it well. If you are only meant to set two temperatures on the daily schedule as others above have suggested.
    If I set it for 6am - 19c and then 7pm for 19c.  What happens for the hours between 7pm and 6am. Someone above said it should be cooler in evening. I agree shouldn't be 14c. Ideally its 16/17c.
    If it's 7pm (19c) and 6am (19c) does that mean the heat stays on during night between these hours at 19c. Will this not be costly?
    Thanks

    It holds the temperature till it gets a new temperature. So if you set it for 19 at 7pm it will maintain this till 6am when the new temperature kicks in , if you set it for 29 then you’ve effectively set your house for 19 24 hours.


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    #14
    iancairns
    Registered Users Posts: 251 ✭✭iancairns


    ted1 wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    OfflerCrocGod wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.
    Sorry didn't explain it well. If you are only meant to set two temperatures on the daily schedule as others above have suggested.
    If I set it for 6am - 19c and then 7pm for 19c.  What happens for the hours between 7pm and 6am. Someone above said it should be cooler in evening. I agree shouldn't be 14c. Ideally its 16/17c.
    If it's 7pm (19c) and 6am (19c) does that mean the heat stays on during night between these hours at 19c. Will this not be costly?
    Thanks

    It holds the temperature till it gets a new temperature. So if you set it for 19 at 7pm it will maintain this till 6am when the new temperature kicks in , if you set it for 29 then you’ve effectively set your house for 19 24 hours.
    Ok so what is best way to set it for night time where it's off for most of night. Temperature shouldn't really drop too much doing this
    Put it at 14c at 1am maybe?
    Thanks


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    #15
    ted1
    Registered Users Posts: 23,538 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    iancairns wrote: »
    ted1 wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    OfflerCrocGod wrote: »
    iancairns wrote: »
    Thanks guys all great feedback.
    So what I have done is change the time to heat from 5hrs (default) to 1hr. Which I never knew of. Hopefully this will help with the times when I found the heat spiking in the toddler room.
    So ideally then I should only have 2 numbers on the whole 24hr scheduled.
    For example (19c) at 6am and then (19c) at 5pm.  
    For the upstairs thermostat, how do I set it up to be cooler during the night?
    Do I set it to 14c at 9m and then it will stay that temp until 6am where it will go back up to 19c?
    My logic with keeping the temp stable in the night was so it wouldn't spike too much in toddler room.
    If toddler room goes from 14c to 19c at 6am is there not a risk that room will overheat too quick and wake him up?
    Thanks again for advice, definitely some great tips.
    Hopefully getting closer to master!
    Toddler room should not be 14c, 18c is recommended.
    Sorry didn't explain it well. If you are only meant to set two temperatures on the daily schedule as others above have suggested.
    If I set it for 6am - 19c and then 7pm for 19c.  What happens for the hours between 7pm and 6am. Someone above said it should be cooler in evening. I agree shouldn't be 14c. Ideally its 16/17c.
    If it's 7pm (19c) and 6am (19c) does that mean the heat stays on during night between these hours at 19c. Will this not be costly?
    Thanks

    It holds the temperature till it gets a new temperature. So if you set it for 19 at 7pm it will maintain this till 6am when the new temperature kicks in , if you set it for 29 then you’ve effectively set your house for 19 24 hours.
    Ok so what is best way to set it for night time where it's off for most of night. Temperature shouldn't really drop too much doing this
    Put it at 14c at 1am maybe?
    Thanks
    Don’t think about off and on.
    Do you want it to be 14?
    If you want it to be 16 then set it to 16, it’ll only kick in if it drops below 16.


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    #16
    cherryghost
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 17,134 Mod ✭✭✭✭cherryghost


    I used to have it learn how long to preheat to obtain the temperature. But I mess with the valves all the time so it became a bit of a nuisance. Now I have it on 3 timers, learning disabled, preheat disabled, and wrote 2 scripts; 1) 1hr boost, 2) if baby temp gets too cold, 1hr boost


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