Google Home Adds Scheduling for Older Nest Thermostats

Google Home gains scheduling for older Nest thermostats

Google announced that users in the US and UK of the 3rd‑generation Nest Learning Thermostat and the Nest Thermostat E can now set and edit temperature schedules directly in the Google Home app. That removes the need to keep the older dedicated Nest app just for scheduling.

The rollout "began last week," meaning not every user will see the feature immediately. Google confirmed that existing schedules created in the Nest app are migrated into Home automatically, and the Home app now supports sensor and fan schedules for these older models.

This update follows Google's broader plan to consolidate Nest functionality into Google Home — a move it flagged last spring when it expanded Home support and announced it would stop software updates for 1st‑ and 2nd‑gen Nest Learning Thermostats. The immediate user benefit: fewer apps to manage and a single interface for multiple Nest devices.

Google also refreshed the Home app’s device visuals for clearer heating and cooling states and updated the energy dashboard to include more granular information plus a weekly year‑over‑year comparison. Those additions make it easier to spot trends and validate whether schedule changes cut energy use.

Why this matters beyond individual homeowners: organizations that manage multiple properties or device fleets can simplify operations by standardizing on Google Home, migrate preexisting schedules automatically, and use the improved energy reporting to measure HVAC performance.

Practical considerations and caveats:

• Rollout timing may vary — some users will see the feature later in the rollout window.
• First‑ and second‑generation Nest devices are nearing the end of software support and won’t gain new Home features.
• Although schedules migrate, organizations should validate that sensor and fan behaviors match operational needs after migration.

How teams should respond now:

• Audit device fleets to identify which thermostats are 3rd‑gen or Nest E and map their control paths.
• Test migrated schedules and sensor behavior in a pilot group before wide rollout to tenants or offices.
• Use the improved energy dashboard to baseline energy usage and track the impact of new scheduling policies week over week.

Bottom line: the change trims friction for many Nest owners and gives organizations clearer ways to manage thermostat fleets and measure savings. As Google continues migrating Nest functionality into Home, teams should plan device governance, validate migrated behavior, and use the new energy insights to close the loop on HVAC efficiency.

If you manage devices at scale, consider these next steps: audit device types, run a migration pilot, and instrument energy dashboards to quantify impacts. That creates a clear path from a user‑facing app update to measurable operational and sustainability outcomes.