Forced-air systems run the fan whenever they're heating or cooling. If your forced-air system has a separate fan wire in your Nest thermostat's G terminal, you can run the system fan when it's not heating or cooling. If not, your fan will only run automatically when your system is heating or cooling.
If you have a system with a dedicated fan wire, you can manually turn on the fan with the app or your thermostat, or set a fan schedule. For example, you can set the fan to run all night and automatically turn off in the morning.
Important things to know about fan control
If there is a wire in your Nest thermostat's G terminal
- You can run your system's fan independently of heating or cooling. So, your system doesn't need to be actively heating or cooling to run the fan.
- However, you can only run the fan when your thermostat is set to a temperature mode (like Cool mode, for example). You can't run the fan if your thermostat is set to off.
- You can set the fan to run a fixed schedule or manually set it to run. It can't be set to run automatically or switch off when you leave or come home.
- The temperature screen will show a fan icon when your fan is running because of your fan schedule, or if you've turned your fan on manually.
If there isn't a wire in your thermostat's G terminal
- The fan can only run while your system is actively heating or cooling.
- Fan control options won't be shown on your thermostat or in the app.
Fan settings enhance comfort and energy efficiency
Longer fan usage may help to even out the temperatures between rooms in your home; however, the fan can use a lot of energy and increase your electricity bill.
Extended fan usage will increase your system's runtime, which may require you to replace the air filter sooner. Turn on filter reminders to help you know when it's time to replace your system's filter.
Fan control with your thermostat
Fan controls differ slightly depending on which thermostat you have. Select your thermostat below.
Nest Thermostat
- Tap your thermostat's touch bar and select Fan
.
- Select how long you'd like your fan to run for, then tap Confirm.
- Choose Start to run the fan or Cancel.
- Your fan will turn off automatically after the time you've selected, but you may turn the fan off early by selecting Stop from the fan menu.
Nest Learning Thermostat and Thermostat E
Turn your fan on manually
- Press your thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
- Select Fan
- Turn the ring to select how long you'd like your fan to run for.
- If you have a multi-speed fan, you'll also be able to set your fan speed.
- Your fan will turn off automatically after the time you've selected.
- You can turn the fan off early by selecting Stop fan from the fan menu.
Your thermostat's screen will show a spinning fan icon to let you know it's functional.
Set a daily fan schedule (available only on certain thermostats)
- Press your thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
- Select Settings
.
- Select Fan.
- Choose Schedule.
- Set how long you'd like your fan to run for per hour, or set it to always run.
- Select what hours of the day you'd like your fan to run. If you have a multi-speed fan, you can select a fan speed for your fan schedule.
- Select Done to set your schedule.
Your fan will turn on automatically each day for the time and duration you've selected.
Change the fan speed (available only on certain thermostats)
For example, you can set your fan to high when heating or cooling and schedule your fan to run at low speed in the morning to circulate the air in your home.
Learn more about the Nest Thermostat and multi-speed fans
Press your thermostat ring to open the Quick View menu.
- Select Settings
- Select Fan.
- Choose System fan speed.
- Select the fan speed you'd like to use when your system is heating or cooling your home. Depending on your system, it may show Low, Medium, High or Auto, if you have a multi-speed fan.
Choose Done to set your system's fan speed.
Fan control with the Home app
Turn your fan on manually
- Open the Google Home app
.
- Tap and hold your device's tile. Note: Make sure your thermostat is on.
- Tap Fan
- Choose how long you'd like your fan to run for.
- Tap Start to run your fan or Cancel.
- Your fan will turn off automatically after the time you've selected, or you can turn it off early through the Set fan to Auto option from the fan menu.
Set a daily fan schedule
- Open the Google Home app
- Tap and hold your device's tile.
- Tap Settings
.
- Select Schedules
Fan.
- Switch Run every day on if you want to set the same fan schedule for all days. Set it to off if you want a unique schedule for a particular day.
- Choose a start and end time with From and To.
- Set how long you'd like to run your fan for per hour. You can choose 15, 30 or 45 minutes of runtime, or select 60 minutes to run your fan for the whole hour.
Your fan will turn on automatically each day for the time and duration you've selected. You can edit or disable your schedule at any time from the fan menu.
Change the fan speed
Important: This setting is only available for systems with multi-speed fan controls over the thermostat wires. This affects the fan speed when your system is actively heating and cooling. You'll have separate options to set the fan speed each time you manually turn on your fan or if you set a fan schedule.
- Open the Google Home app
- Tap and hold your device's tile.
- Tap Settings
- Under System fan speed, select the fan speed you'd like to use when your system heats or cools your home. You can choose Low, Medium, High or Auto, based on your system's wiring.
If you choose Low, Medium or High:
- Your fan will always run at that speed when it heats or cools your home.
If you choose Auto:
- Your Nest thermostat automatically chooses how fast to run your fan when it heats or cools your home.
You'll still be able to choose a different speed for your schedule and each time you manually run your fan.
Fan control with the Nest app
Turn your fan on manually
- Tap the thermostat you'd like to control from the home screen.
- Tap Fan
- Select how long you'd like your fan to run for. If you have a multi-speed fan, you'll be able to select your fan speed.
- Tap Start to run your fan.
Your fan will turn off automatically after the time you've selected, or you can turn it off early by selecting Stop from the fan menu.
Set a daily fan schedule
- Tap the thermostat you'd like to control from the home screen.
- Tap Settings
- Select Fan schedule.
- For Every day, tap the slider to turn your fan schedule on or off.
- Set how long you'd like to run your fan for per hour. You can choose 15, 30 or 45 minutes of runtime, or select 60 minutes to run your fan for the whole hour.
- Choose what time you want your fan to start running and when you'd like your fan to stop running this schedule. If you have a multi-speed fan, you can select a fan speed for your fan schedule.
Your fan will turn on automatically each day for the time and duration you've selected. You can edit or disable your schedule at any time from the fan menu.
Change the fan speed
Important: This setting is only available for systems with multi-speed fan controls over the thermostat wires. This affects the fan speed when your system is actively heating and cooling. You'll have separate options to set the fan speed each time you manually turn on your fan or if you set a fan schedule.
- Tap the thermostat you'd like to control on the app home screen.
- Tap Settings
- Select Fan.
- In HVAC fan speed, select the fan speed you'd like to use when your system is heating or cooling your home. You can choose Low, Medium, High or Auto depending on your system's wiring.
If you choose Low, Medium or High:
- Your fan will always run at that speed when heating or cooling your home.
If you choose Auto:
- Your Nest thermostat will automatically choose how fast to run your fan when heating or cooling your home.
You'll still be able to choose a different speed for your schedule and each time you manually run your fan. For example, you can set your fan to High when heating or cooling and use a schedule to set your fan to Low every morning to circulate air in your home.
Fan control with your furnace
When you set up Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen), you'll be asked if your fan is to be controlled "By furnace" or "By thermostat." If you test your furnace and notice the fan isn't activating, you can change this in your thermostat's ventilation settings in the Google Home app.