How Many Zones Can a Nest Thermostat Control?

If you’re like me and use multiple thermostats in your home, you’re not alone. Many people have house layouts that require multiple thermostats to control the temperature of each zone. But if you own a Nest Thermostat, is this still possible?

The Nest Thermostat controls a single zone per device; however, a single home can support up to 20 individual thermostats. Additionally, there are some alternatives should you choose to monitor the temperature of multiple areas with a single device.

Given the versatility of the Nest Thermostats, as well as their ability to work in conjunction with multiple Nest devices, it’s crucial to understand how zones function in your house. This article will offer a look at the ins and outs of zones, as well as a guide to optimizing your Nest system to best suit your needs.

Understanding Zones

Zone systems can be defined simply as a home with multiple thermostats that control separate areas. For example, if you have a separate thermostat for your upstairs and downstairs, you have a zone system. You may also have separate thermostats for the different rooms of your house, depending on the layout.

Nest Thermostats are compatible with most zone systems, including systems with dampers (devices that regulate airflow through ducts and vents).

However, it is worth noting that Nest Thermostats are not compatible with systems requiring thermostat damper control. Additionally, some zoned systems need a C (Common) wire to power the Nest thermostat consistently. (Source: Google Support)

Multistage vs. Zone Systems

While researching your system’s compatibility with multiple zones and Nest Thermostats, you may come across the term “multistage” regarding your configuration.

A multistage system is a single zone with multiple levels of cooling or heating (designed to save energy). They will have various heating or cooling wires, which will require additional setup (though still compatible with Nest).

If you’re unsure if your system will be compatible with Nest, Google offers a Compatibility Checker on their support pages so that you can feel confident about your purchase.

Nest Limitations with Zone Control

Now that you’ve confirmed your configuration is compatible with Nest, you may be wondering: what does zone control look like, and what are the limitations?

The Nest Thermostat uses the connections from your existing thermostats for functionality. This means that they work independently and can only control the system that the device is hardwired to. Additionally, your system may need a C wire to deliver enough power consistently to your device.

How Does Nest Control Different Zones?

The Nest Thermostat is a smart, “learning” device that can adapt to routine usage while still providing energy-saving options for your home. If you want to control your heating and cooling independently in different zones of your house, you will need multiple Nest Thermostats to manage the environmental settings.

Fortunately, the Nest system can support up to 20 thermostats per household, ensuring that you are covered, even if you have more than one existing thermostat. Additionally, the Nest Thermostats can communicate with one another, adding some advantages should you choose to operate with multiple devices. You can use the same heating and cooling settings universally with numerous devices, or you can customize each thermostat to control its own zone.

Nest Learning Features

Nest Thermostats are also able to learn temperature patterns and adjust over time. With the Auto-Schedule feature, your device can learn what temperatures you prefer at different times of the day.

Eventually, the Nest will learn your patterns and create a schedule based on your needs. This is not only beneficial for managing the different zones in your house (as each thermostat can learn different patterns), but it will also allow users to save energy by efficiently controlling each zone separately.

Auto-Away Mode Coordination

Auto-Away Mode Coordination is another Nest feature designed to work with multiple zone systems. With this mode, your system will detect if your home is empty and adjust its settings accordingly. This feature also works with numerous Nest Thermostats.

For example, if your living room thermostat detects that you’ve returned home in the evening, it will communicate this information with your upstairs bedroom thermostat, so you won’t have to adjust it separately when you go to bed.

Alternative Zone Management Options

If you only have one thermostat in your house but still want to control your zones independently, there are some alternatives offered by Nest as well. One option is purchasing a Nest Temperature Sensor. With these sensors, you can connect to your Nest Thermostat and control which sensor’s reading will control a particular zone’s temperature; this will avoid the need for multiple thermostats to control your home’s varying temperatures.

In Summary

The ability to control different temperature zones in our house is energy-saving and provides additional automation to your smart home. Though the Nest Thermostat can only independently control the temperature of the zone where it’s installed, Nest is compatible with multiple thermostats and can be used in conjunction with the Temperature Sensors to ensure you are getting the most control and efficiency out of your zones.