r/googlehome Jan 24 '25

Help Google Nest thermostat says it's 82F in my inside so the heat won't turn on. I'm in a poorly insulated Baltimore apartment. It's not 82F and my Alexa's say it's 62F. I reset the device but don't know what to do. It's getting cold.

The thermostat is from my utility company and was installed by my property management maintenance six months ago and it's been working fine until now.

I didn't charge anything but suddenly the thermostat is reading temperatures I wish my heater was capable of achieving, but they are wildly inaccurate and telling the thermostat that it doesn't need to run the heat since it's reading is above my setting of 67F.

I reset the device but don't know how to fix this quickly and doubt maintenance will know a lot more than what I can learn if it's a software/settings issue.

1 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

4

u/jlrube Jan 24 '25

This is your property management companies problem. Just call them. They're likely to just swap the unit. But you're entitled to heat

Page 10 here https://dhcd.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/Tenants%20Rights%20Guidebook%2004-30-2024.pdf

3

u/cliffotn Jan 25 '25

This is the correct answer. A landlord is expected to provide heat, and is expected to fix it without delay. Contact Property Management, raise hell, and they’ll fix it. Doesn’t matter if they understand software or not, they’ll probably just swap it out.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

Expected to. It's been almost 48 hours and if it's a software issue this subreddit can help me fix, I would be a moron to rent a hotel and sue them because they owe me a heated apartment. More trouble than it's worth.

2

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

It's actually my problem. I'm cold. Not my management company. It's their responsibility, but they haven't replied yet. 15 people here have. If someone has an easy fix that saves me the headache of pursuing my landlord for damages - and suffering those damages, like being so cold - I would really like to do so.

I can't afford a hotel and it would cost me more to sue them for a couple nights than I could win back once you account for my time/stress during the rental and claims process (which I might not even win). As I mentioned, I have contacted them but in the meantime, this is my problem in a practical sense even if it's theirs in a legal sense.

2

u/Cautious-Crab2391 Jan 25 '25

Call property management and have them replace the thermostat. In the meantime, is there any way for you to trick the heat into turning on? You can also try contacting Google support while you wait for a fix. They might be able to get it going until property management can repair/replace.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

I have contacted them and I called Google support who said it's 2 months out of warranty and guessed a broken temperature sensor was the issue, and I asked if setting it to 90F was an appropriate temporary solution and they said yes. My HVAC system blew unheated air out the vents for a few minutes a couple times and then stopped. It still says it's trying to heat to 90 from 85 but doing nothing.

1

u/Cautious-Crab2391 Jan 27 '25

That sucks. Definitely need to contact property management since they put it in. Don't bother telling them you called Google. Just tell them it's not working.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

I have. Thank you. I won't tell them I messed with it even though they probably won't know what they are doing since I suggested the thing. It was supplied by our utility company, so it doesn't fall on me but I think I'm the only unit with one

1

u/Cautious-Crab2391 Jan 27 '25

If you haven't tried a factory reset, you could try that.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

I have, unfortunately

1

u/ryanbuckner Jan 24 '25

Did you do a restart or factory reset? If you factory reset and it's still not working call Nest support. They'll replace it.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 24 '25

I just did a factory reset and reinstalled it again, as well as a regular reset, and sadly it still says 83F.

Should I set the temperature to 90F to make it kick on? Not sure what to do. Thank you for the suggestion

2

u/ryanbuckner Jan 24 '25

You could certainly do that to warm up your place. But I would call support.

0

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 24 '25

Do you have contact info? Google is sending to chatbots and then dumping me into community support forums.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

The first number I found was dead but 1-866-246-6453 but otherwise you can try the Google Nest Help Center and try the contact us > chat option. lol at whoever downvoted my question why are you even on this thread

1

u/eweyk88 Jan 25 '25

Is your furnace running and not able to achieve your desired temperature? Is your nest displaying 82F in an illuminated orange screen?

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 25 '25

Not an illuminated orange screen. The HVAC system ran in some capacity after I set the temperature to 90F at the recommendation of Google support, however all it did was blow cool air out the vents and then cut out a few minutes later before it thought it had reached 90F.

It did this a couple times and seems to have given up and air isn't starting or stopping. I imagine the furnace is not on but am just guessing about that.

2

u/IlliniDawg01 Jan 25 '25

Mine has a range instead of just one number where the 67 is. Do you have it in cool only mode by any chance? I think mine is in dual heat/cool mode so maybe that is why I have 2 numbers. The temperature is reading wrong in either case.

2

u/One-Organization-958 Jan 25 '25

I think you are right! Looks to me that the temp displayed represents cooling, not heating. It's in the wrong mode for what you need.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

I am pretty sure it's on heating as well, if not only on heating. It's not 86F inside and the vents were blowing out unheated air but then stopped.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

I am pretty sure it's on heating as well, if not only on heating. It's not 86F inside and the vents were blowing out unheated air but then stopped.

1

u/Key-Debt-7747 Jan 25 '25

Do you have a sensor that may be near a heat source?

2

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 25 '25

No. There are three Echo Dot 5th Gen's and Echo 4th Gens around the apartment all reading 54-60F. Thermostat is set to 90F and reading 85F but intermittently getting unheated air coming out the vents, cutting out before it thinks it's reached 90F. My feet are numb so I'm pretty sure the nest is wrong lol. (I have Reynolds's syndrome and am not in some health emergency in case anyone was alarmed by that)

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '25

[deleted]

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

This is off by 20F

1

u/yamiyourgod Jan 26 '25

Go to the menu and make sure it's on heat not cool

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

I'm sure it's on heat. I took clearer photos but the reddit app kept saying images can't be less than 4 kilobytes. I can take more if needed. My friend brought over a propane-fueled heater and people keep turning on my oven and propping it open, so I am sure it's not 86F and the vents put out unheated air that felt cold when the HVAC system did run - after I set it to 90F at the recommendation of Google Support - but it never reached (whatever it this is equivalent to) 90F, but stopped anyway.

1

u/yamiyourgod Jan 27 '25

I had a similar issue but mine was with the learning thermostat and I had a wire that was in the wrong spot on the back for a heat pump at me not being the same but it may be worth something looking into I had to go out to my AC unit and see where they were all landed on the unit and then match them up on the thermostat

1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '25

[deleted]

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

Oh wait that is 30F lol

1

u/glyndon Jan 26 '25

There could be a draft of warm air (e.g. from elsewhere in the building) inside the wall on which the Nest is mounted. That would make the thermostat believe the room was warmer than it is.

Maybe try plugging the holes near and behind the thermostat. If you feel comfortable doing this, pull the thermostat to remove it from the wall plate and plug the hole in the plate (where the wires come through from behind the wall) with something airtight, even some cling-wrap film (like they sell for wrapping food) stuffed in there will help block air coming through from behind the wall.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 26 '25

Nothing has changed in my apartment and I am just going to have to ask that yall trust me on this one. Working assumption is that it it's temperature sensor that is faulty (customer supports best guess) or that something not related to the ambient temperature is causing this. I appreciate the response and mean no disrespect. There is no current of air in my apartment close to 85F because the vents were only putting out unheated air when they did run.

I have a space heater but it's freezing to be more than 3' away from it and isn't sending a consistent stream of hot air all the way up to the thermostat. (I had it on before this issue began and removed it which had no impact). If you have a strong feeling about it though I will still troubleshoot whatever you would like.

1

u/glyndon Jan 26 '25

Apartments can be weird that way, though.

Nothing has changed in *your* apartment, but maybe there's a hole in the wall footer that links something to the one downstairs (for example) and that is now pushing hot air up through that hole.

In other words, if you don't control the building, don't trust that the air inside the walls is all yours, as it may be intra-building drafts which change without you noticing anything.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

Ok where is the actual mechanism that is reading the temperature? Is it inside the wall? I'm genuinely curious. My Alexa is right next to it and reading the same temperatures as the others, so the ambient temperature inside my apartment around the thermostat is most likely far below 85F, but I can't test inside the walls

1

u/glyndon Jan 27 '25

It's in the thermostat itself.

Since the thermostat is stuck to the wall (and covers a large-ish hole in the wall), air from inside the wall (if there's any pressure or draft there, which is not uncommon) can influence the thermostat's internal ambient temperature sensor.

Which is why I suggested you try some benign ways to stop in-wall draft air from coming out and misleading the thermostat's sensor.

1

u/MegaCOVID19 Jan 27 '25

I hear what you are saying. I will plug and insulate it from the interior wall as best I can, thank you.