How Nest thermostats learn

Your thermostat can start learning your temperature preferences from the day that you start using it.

Use the app or your thermostat to select a temperature that you want. Your thermostat will remember your choice and add it to the schedule that it's building for you.

While your thermostat is learning, the exact behaviour it'll display depends on which model you have:

• Nest Learning Thermostat: When you adjust the temperature on the first day, your Nest thermostat will hold that temperature until someone changes it. For instance, if you set your thermostat to 21ºC (70ºF), it'll stay at that temperature until it's changed.
• Nest Thermostat E: During setup, you'll have the option to choose a pre-programmed schedule that balances energy savings and comfort.
  • If you choose the pre-programmed schedule and also have Auto-Schedule turned on, your thermostat will learn your preferences on top of the pre-programmed schedule. So, your thermostat will hold its current temperature until someone changes it, or the next scheduled temperature change, whichever comes first.
  • If you choose not to use the pre-programmed schedule, your thermostat will hold the temperature until someone changes it.
  • Learn about your options in Nest thermostat temperature schedules.

On day two, your thermostat will continue learning a personalised schedule using any temperatures that you've set. Your thermostat will also try to learn when you're at home or away by how often you adjust the temperature or walk in front of your thermostat.

If you don’t like the temperature that your thermostat learned from day one, simply turn the ring. Any changes that you make will help set your schedule for the following days.

Note: Your Nest thermostat starts a new day at midnight. Adjustments made very late at night may not affect your early-morning schedule.

After a few days, your Nest thermostat will have a decent idea about what temperatures you prefer throughout the day. But it will continue to fine-tune the schedule if you make further adjustments.

After about a week, your thermostat will have learned your temperature preferences and settled on a schedule for you.

It'll never stop learning, but will be less sensitive to each change that you make from now on. From this point onwards, your Nest thermostat will only learn from a pattern of at least two similar changes.

Here are some examples of patterns that your thermostat can learn and how they'll change your temperature schedule:

Pattern of temperature changes	How it changes your thermostat's schedule
Two weekdays in a row, for example, Monday and Tuesday	All weekdays (Monday to Friday)
Same day two weeks in a row, for example, two Mondays in a row	That day of the week (every Monday)
Two weekend days in a row, for example, Saturday and Sunday	All weekend days (Saturday and Sunday)
Two days in a row including a weekday and a weekend day, for example, Friday and Saturday	All seven days of the week (Monday to Sunday)

​Here are some things that you may notice when you start teaching your thermostat what temperatures you like:

• The Nest Leaf: When you turn the ring, you may notice a green leaf  on the thermostat display. This is the Nest Leaf, which appears when you've chosen a temperature that's more energy efficient. You can use the Nest Leaf as a guide to help save energy.
• Time to temperature: Your thermostat can display an estimate of how long it'll take to bring your home to the temperature that you've chosen. To learn more about Time-to-Temperature, visit What you'll see on a Nest thermostat.
• Home and Away: Your thermostat can help save energy by switching to an Eco Temperature automatically when it senses that no one's home. This option will take precedence over your normal temperature schedule. Learn how your home switches to Home or Away automatically.
• Meeting your temperature at the scheduled time: Early-On and True Radiant are learning features that your Nest thermostat can use from day one. Which one your thermostat uses depends on what type of system you have, but both do essentially the same thing. They can automatically turn on your system early to meet a scheduled temperature. For example, if you schedule your home to be 21ºC (70ºF) at 7.00 a.m., your thermostat might turn on the heat early at 6.00 a.m. so that your home is comfortable when you wake up. Exactly how early it'll turn on depends on what your thermostat has learned about how quickly your home heats and cools, how efficient your system is and the weather.