Nest setting to use Stage 2 cooling

3 years ago

We have Nest thermostats installed in our home with 2 staged cooling and heating. When we manually set the Nest temperature to cooling more than 4-5 degrees, we noticed that the AC would move into Stage 2 cooling (Which is what we want).

However, when we are using the scheduled cooling, Nest seems to be trying to cool using Stage 1 cooling only. With the Arizona heat, Stage 1 doesn't cool fast enough and we end up having a home 5+ degrees over the target temperature. Is there a way to set Nest to use Stage 2 cooling via schedule? Our current workaround is to walk to the thermostat and change the target temperature down by a degree, making the Nest go into Stage 2 manually, and then dial it back to target temperature.

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Frank L
Original Author

3 years ago

@sktn77a: We have deactivated the "learning" part so that it stays locked into temperature rather than the smart adjustments. The thermastat is definitely recognizing the need to kick into cooling after the "peak" timezone where we kept temperature a bit higher. The challenge is that it will go into stage 1 cooling to cool the house, but the house is still rising faster than it is cooling. At some point, it is 5 degrees higher than target temperature (1 hour later). There is no "in X hour" warning, just stuck at cooling stage 1 unless we "force" the temperature by setting temperature to -1 from target, which will immediately trigger stage 2 cooling. Then flip it back to target temperature.

@mike_home: Yes, this typically happens after the house comes out of the "peak" period between 4-7, where we set the house at 82 (we rely on fans during peak period). By 7pm, Nest would show cooling stage 1 with target to 78, but often the house will climb even against cool stage 1 to 83-84. That's when I go manually +/-1 degree to force stage 2 cooling. Seems like I can only get stage 2 cooling when I manually adjust temperature. So I am hoping there is something I am missing (don't see anything else to change in Nest).

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Comments (10)

sktn77a
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Most Smart thermostats "learn" from past history and delay kicking in second stage when on program mode. Sounds like that doesn't work for you with the most recent heat spells. There's usually a setting to over-ride this "smart" recovery.
mike_home
3 years ago
Does it occur when you are coming out of temperature setback period? How long do you wait before changing the temperature setting?
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sktn77a
3 years ago
well, either the thermostat is defective (most likely) or, for some reason, just not compatible with your system.
Frank L thanked sktn77a
Frank L
Original Author
3 years ago
@sktn77a: I just figured that since the Nest can activate stage 2 cooling, it isn't a defect or compatibility issue. Just annoying that manual intervention seems to be required. Maybe I should try swapping my Nest devices.....I do have 2 for the 2 zones...
sktn77a
3 years ago
Certainly try that to eliminate a defective device. you have a zoned system as well as two stsges?
mike_home
3 years ago
Which Nest thermostat do you have? Have you tried calling Nest technical support? This is a very basic feature that all two stage thermostats support. Most thermostats will use a timed algorithm. For example the thermostat will start in the low stage, and then if desired temperature is not reached within 5 - 10 minutes, the thermostat will switch to the high stage. I would be really surprised if the Nest can do this basic function. If it can't then you need to invest in a better thermostat.
Frank L
Original Author
3 years ago
@sktn77a: Yes two zones for the two ends of the house. Will try swapping the units and see if that makes a difference.

@mike_home: I will check to see if Nest has a tech support line. Their website wasn't too obvious with it. And their own support forum pales compared to here. I agree, I would expect that based on time algo it would trigger a higher stage (or if the difference creeps above a threshold).
sktn77a
3 years ago
And both zones have the same issue?
wdccruise
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
According to this article, "Nest’s auto-schedule mode learns what temperatures you prefer for your house during specific times of day." If this is the case, shouldn't you enable auto-schedule and manually adjust the temperature at the appropriate time(s) (e.g., reduce the temperature at bedtime) until the thermostat learns your preferences and automatically adjusts the temperature accordingly?

According to this article, the thermostat takes time to learn "Time to Temperature" and it will switch to State 2 at a fixed interval for several days until it's learned "Time to Temperature" (read "Multiple stage are handled differently right after thermostat installation").