HVAC schedules may be programmed for a thermostat using a combination of pre-existing schedules or templates and automated schedule learning. For example, a pre-existing schedule may be initiated on the thermostat and the automated schedule learning may be used to update the pre-existing schedule based on users' interactions with the thermostat. The preexisting HVAC schedules may be stored on a device or received from a social networking service or another online service that includes shared HVAC schedules.