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 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
- Open the Home app
.
- Tap Favorites
or Devices
- Tap your thermostat.
- Tap the Temperature mode icon. The icon is different, depending on what mode your thermostat is currently in.
- 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).
- On the home screen, select your thermostat.
- Tap Mode
.
- Choose the mode you want.
On the thermostat
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Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen): Set to Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool, or Off mode
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Nest Thermostat: Set to Heat, Cool, Heat • Cool, or Eco mode
Set to Off mode
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Nest Thermostat E:
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Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier):
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Switch to Eco Temperatures
You can quickly switch your thermostat to Eco Temperatures much like you switch to other modes. Learn about Eco Temperatures and how to change settings.
Google Home app
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Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen):
 Start hold. Your thermostat display shows “Eco hold” on the screen when this mode is active. |
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Nest Thermostat E or Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier):
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Nest app
Note: The Nest app is only compatible with the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd gen or earlier).
- On the home screen, select your thermostat.
- Select Eco
.
- 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 doesn't 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)
- Press the thermostat display toward the wall to access the menu.
- Rotate the dial to highlight Eco and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
- 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:
- Press the thermostat display toward the wall to access the menu.
- Rotate the dial to highlight Eco and press the thermostat toward the wall to select it.
- 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
- Press the thermostat ring to display the Quick View menu.
- Turn to Eco
- Select Start Eco.
Note: If your thermostat is already set to Eco, select Stop Eco and your thermostat returns 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 behaves 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 | ||
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| Cool | ||
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| Heat • Cool | ||
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| Off | ||
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| Eco | ||
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| Preset | ||
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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 behaves in Eco compared to other modes:
- When you manually switch to Eco, your thermostat ignores 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
Advanced configuration settings
To stop your system from switching on and off too much, there's a minimum amount of time the system remains off between cycles, as well as a minimum amount of time the compressor and heater stay on during a cycle. If you want to change these durations, go to the Advanced configuration settings.
- Open the Home app
- Tap Favorites
.
- Select your thermostat from the list of devices.
- Tap Settings
Thermostat.
- Tap Advanced configuration.
- From this screen, you can adjust the following:
- Compressor lockout time: Minimum time between cycles.
- Minimum compressor on time: Minimum duration for a compressor heat or cool cycle.
- Minimum heat on time: Minimum duration for a conventional heat cycle.
- Select your desired settings and tap Back to save your changes.
