Tasker Recipes for Nest

Since switching back to Android I’ve found the Tasker app useful to automate some of minor aspects of my always connected life.

The first profile I created to control my Nest thermostat. I found that when I was arriving home the Nest would not immediately notice I had arrived. So, I used Tasker in combination with the Smart Thermostat Plugin to detect when I was on my home WiFi and set the Nest to home:

Profile: @ Home

State: Wifi Connected [ SSID:YOUR_SSID MAC:* IP:* ]
Enter: Nest Home
A1: Smart Thermostat Plugin [ Configuration:away: false ]

Similarly the second profile detects when I am at work and sets my Nest thermostat to Away. It also automatically turns the sound down on my phone so I don’t have to adjust it manually:

Profile: @ Work

State: Wifi Near [ SSID:WORK_SSID MAC:* IP:* ]
Enter: Arrived At Work
A1: Smart Thermostat Plugin [ Configuration:away: true ]
A2: System Volume [ Level:0 Display:Off Sound:Off ]

Those were the original profiles I created. I then realized I could use the Wifi Near capability to identify being at other common locations where I may not use WiFi per say, like:

Profile: @ Family

State: Wifi Near [ SSID:SOME_SSID MAC:* ]
Enter: Nest Away
A1: Smart Thermostat Plugin [ Configuration:away: true ]

I even added a profile for when I enter an exit the car using the state of the Bluetooth connection. While in the car, I’m not at home, so the Nest is set to away. Also, I turn the sound back up on my phone because presumable I could be leaving work:

Profile: Car

State: BT Connected [ Name:YOUR_BT Address:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx ]
Enter: Car On
A1: Smart Thermostat Plugin [ Configuration:away: true ]
A2: System Volume [ Level:7 Display:Off Sound:Off ]

Beyond the profiles I created two Tasker 1×1 widgets on the home screen for Nest Home (and Nest Away). I found that during the hot summers I was using the Nest app frequently to tell the house to start cooling down as I knew it be warmer than I’d prefer. Now I can do it with one click and it will be just how I like it when I arrive.

I explored turning apps on an off automatically while in the car (like Waze) but found that the app did not fully start up and/or would not shut down properly. I’d like to get that working.

I’ve also realized I could add other vehicles as well using “BT Near”. This way if I’m riding around with someone the same profiles can be used.

It took a while to think up, and set up, but it is quite satisfying to have working.