Google brings HVAC monitoring, early warnings to all Nest Thermostats

Earlier this year, Google started testing HVAC monitoring capabilities for Nest Thermostats. The feature was highlighted with the launch of the new Nest Thermostat and is officially rolling out to all existing and current devices in the US and Canada.

Sometimes, your HVAC system shows warning signs that it’s having issues. For example, if it takes longer than normal to cool your home, there might be a problem with your cooling system (AC). If your Nest thermostat detects these unusual or unexpected patterns, we may send you an email alert or a Home app notification. 

Google frames heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) monitoring as a way for Nest Thermostats to “look after your home.” It looks at estimated ambient and target temperature, as well as predicted time to temperature.

We have predicted the expected behavior and then look for anomalies which may be potential performance issues with the HVAC system.

There are two types of notifications (email and app-based), starting with urgent alerts “that may require immediate attention.”

• Your heating system failed to heat your home
• Your A/C system failed to cool your home
• Furnace shutdown / Heads-up 

Meanwhile, earning warnings are issues that “should be fixed soon.” 

• Your heating system briefly stopped heating your home several times
• Your A/C system briefly lost power several times
• Your A/C ran longer than expected
• Filter reminders (based on run time)

If you have a Google Account, HVAC urgent alerts sent via Home app notification cannot be disabled, though the early warnings can be customized. After receiving an alert, the Nest Thermostat (or app) can list the Nest Pro that installed your system. Google is expanding its partnership with Handy to easily book a maintenance appointment when issues arise. This service is now available across the US and parts of Canada.

In a blog post today, Google said that HVAC monitoring came about as a “side project” two years ago in response to people thinking there was a Nest Thermostat issue instead of one with their homes.  

When our customers had an HVAC issue, they would call us assuming there was something wrong. We were trying to help them troubleshoot and connect them to a Nest Pro, but we wanted to do it more proactively.