How to Manually Start an HVAC Fan with a Nest Thermostat

If you don’t want to turn on the air conditioning in your home, but want to at least keep some air flow to reduce congestion, here’s how to use a Nest thermostat to manually start a fan from an HVAC system.

RELATED: How to install and set up a nest thermostat

Most thermostats have a setting where you can only use the HVAC fan, but the settings are pretty limited and you can probably only turn it on and off. There is also usually an «automatic» mode that turns on every time the air conditioner or heating is turned on. However, the Nest Thermostat has a lot more control when it comes to the system fan: you can manually turn it on from your smartphone and even specify how long you want it to run.

From the Nest app

Open the Nest app on your phone and select your Nest thermostat from the home screen.

IMG_1923_stomped

Click «Fan» at the bottom.

IMG_1924.1_stomped

From here, you can quickly access the fan timer and set it to a specific time. There are different intervals to choose from and you can enable it up to 12 consecutive hours.

IMG_1925_stomped

If you need more precise system fan control, tap the settings icon in the top right corner of the screen.

IMG_1924_stomped

Click on «Fan».

IMG_1926_stomped

You will have two options to choose from: Every Day and Timer Duration.

IMG_1927_stomped

First, you can click «Every Day» which will allow you to set a schedule for the system fan. You can set a time limit and a time window for when the fan will turn on and off. This will happen every day.

IMG_1928_stomped

For «Timer Duration» it’s effectively the same as the home screen shortcut where you can turn on the fan and turn it off automatically after a certain amount of time.

IMG_1929_stomped

Thermostat on socket

You can do the same on the Nest thermostat itself if you don’t want to use your phone. Start by clicking on the device to open the main menu.

IMG_2397_stomped

Use the silver scroll wheel and navigate to «Fan». Click on a device to select it.

IMG_2399_stomped

You will have three options to choose from: Automatic (which is the default), Every Day, and Start Now.

IMG_2400_stomped

Selecting «Every Day» will do the same thing as the «Every Day» setting in the app, where you can choose how long the fan will run, as well as set the time period for when it happens. When you’re done with that, select Done.

IMG_2402_stomped

From there, your Nest thermostat will show your settings for the fan in the main menu.

IMG_2403_stomped

With «Start Now» it’s the same as «Timer Duration» in the Nest app, so it allows you to manually turn on the system fan and turn it off automatically after a time you set. Select Done when you set the time and the fan will turn on.

IMG_2404_stomped

Whether you set it all up from the Nest app or on the Nest Thermostat device itself, the changes will appear on both devices, so you can set it up on the device and change it in the app, and vice versa.