12 Things You Need to Know About Your Nest Thermostat

A Nest Thermostat is an excellent tool for keeping your home comfortable, no matter what the season or weather. With a range of features and programs designed for maximum efficiency, convenience and comfort, a Nest Thermostat is an excellent choice to help you manage your energy use — lowering your monthly bills in the process.

That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest to their HVAC system. If you're interested in trying a Nest yourself, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Thedford.

From auto scheduling to energy efficiency monitoring, Nest is designed to make securing your sense of comfort effortless.

Want all the details? Here’s a look at 12 things you need to know about your Nest Thermostat.

1. How to Reset a Nest Thermostat

The first thing to know about resetting a Google Nest Thermostat is that resetting is different from restarting.

• Restart: This process is similar across most electronics, including your phone or computer, restarting your Nest Thermostat simply turns it off and then back on. This maintains all your settings and is a step to take if your Nest is frozen or not connecting to Wi-Fi.
• Reset: A more drastic function, a reset should restore your Nest to its original settings from the manufacturer. People normally only use a reset as they're moving homes and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they're moving out and prefer to erase any personal details from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

To initiate a reset, it helps to record existing temperature settings so they're still available if you forget or erase them. Next, go to Settings -> Equipment and record your system wires, heating type and safety temperature settings.

Then, to manually restart or reset your Nest, go to Settings, select Reset and press. You will then have five options:

• Restart: Deactivates your Nest before rebooting it with your settings. Another way to restart is to press the outside of the Nest and hold it down for a few seconds until it turns black, at which point you can remove your hand.
• Schedule: This reset setting clears all scheduling information—including for your hot water, if you've connected it to your Nest. By choosing this kind of reset, you’ll have to input a new schedule or wait until the Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: An Away reset erases all the information your Nest has learned about how often you walk by, so that it can update the temperature on its own.
• Network: If you select this reset option, it will remove all your network information and your Nest will no longer be connected to Wi-Fi. Use this option if you want your Nest to forget your Wi-Fi password.
• All Settings: Self-explanatory, an All Settings reset clears all your personal settings and learning.

2. How to Connect Nest Thermostat to Wi-Fi

Connecting to Wi-Fi is important if you want the most use of its online features.

To connect your Nest to the internet:

• Open the Quick View menu by turning the thermostat ring.
• Locate the Settings icon.
• Press Network.
• As your Nest is finished scanning for local networks, find your Wi-Fi and, if you have one, enter your password.

3. Does a Nest Thermostat Have a Battery and How Long Will the Battery Last?

Nest thermostats receive power from your HVAC system, but also have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in situations where the power cuts out. According to Google, the maker of Nest, a Nest Thermostat battery will generally last several months. It can be recharged using a USB charger that comes with the Nest.

4. Shutting Off a Nest Thermostat

If you won't be home for a while, consider setting your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is another solid choice. Off mode shuts down all your regular heating and cooling schedules, although the Nest will still use your Safety Temperatures to keep your home from getting particularly hot or cold.

To find Off mode on the thermostat:

• Press and hold the touch bar until it displays “Turn Off” before sliding the bar to highlight Turn Off, and then touch the bar to select.
• Or, from the main menu, go to Mode and select Off.

Off mode is available on the Google Home app as well:

• Select Thermostat from home screen
• Tap Temperature mode
• Select Off

5. Can Alexa Control a Nest Thermostat?

Yes, Amazon's Alexa is compatible with a Nest Thermostat. Alexa voice controls are also available with Nest doorbells and cameras. And of course, you can use Google Assistant to control your Nest.

6. Will My Nest Thermostat Work Without Wi-Fi?

Yes, your Nest Thermostat can still control temperatures even without Wi-Fi. That being said, without Wi-Fi a Nest doesn’t have access to all the key features that most people enjoy.

7. Can You Lock a Nest Thermostat?

When family members can't stop bickering over temperatures, Nest offers a handy feature that keeps things simple.

Nest has a locking feature that allows a user to keep it from making any adjustments outside of a preset range. This doesn't mean you're stuck with a single temperature—a locked Nest continues to use existing program settings—but simply prevents other users from constantly changing the settings.

To lock a Nest:

• Tap the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and locate the function listed as Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and do so twice.
• For locking a Nest in Heat or Cool mode, fine-tune your maximum and minimum temperature range and then tap Lock at the bottom of the screen.

To unlock a Nest, open the settings and choose Unlock. Once you enter your 4-digit pin, the Nest will be unlocked.

8. Controlling Your Nest Thermostat from a Phone

A Nest Thermostat is controlled by the Google Home app, which is accessible on your phone as well as a computer. Other versions of Nest, including the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, are also compatible with remote control via the Nest app.

Before you can make adjustments for a Nest on your phone with Google Home or the Nest app, you need to follow a few steps:

• Download the Google Home app or, if you have an advanced model, the Nest app to your phone.
• Connect your Nest Thermostat.
• Start the Google Home app on your phone and complete the setup process, link to your new device and connect to Wi-Fi.
• There is a guided setup tool on Google, for those needing extra assistance in connecting.

As soon as you've connected the Nest to your Home app, it's accessible by clicking Thermostat on the home screen. Once you do that, making adjustments is done by dragging your finger along the screen or tapping on a plus or minus sign.

The preset temperatures on your Nest can also be changed from the app. From the home screen, choose Thermostat and then select Settings. Once there, press Temperature Preferences and then Temperature Presets. This will display your preset Comfort, Eco and Sleep temperatures. By selecting one of those three options, you can change the temperature for that preset.

9. How to Set a Nest Thermostat Schedule

You can set a temperature schedule on a Nest Thermostat either on the device or on the Google Home app. More advanced versions of the Nest, such as the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, can also be adjusted by using the Nest app.

You have two primary ways to establish a temperature schedule on a Nest Thermostat:

• Quick Schedule: The Quick Schedule feature is based on the national average schedule for energy efficiency. As you set the thermostat up, the Google Home app gives you the option to change the temperature with a schedule. If you choose that option, it will show a preset schedule before letting you customize it. Once setup is complete, that’s the schedule it will use.
• Temperature Presets: To change the temperature presets on your Nest, open the Google Home app and press Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and select Edit. After the changes are complete, select Done.

If you already have a schedule and want to change it, open the Google Home app, select Thermostat and then tap on Schedules. Find the time of week you want to add a temperature to. After the day is selected, tap Add and find the preset you want. Finally, select Time before touching and dragging the numbers to change the time. Select Done to save changes.

10. How to Set a Temperature Range on a Nest Thermostat

The Nest features an Eco mode ideal for setting custom temperature ranges. This is a function that adjusts the temperature in your home depending on if anyone is in the residence or if it is empty.

To customize the Nest temperature range in Eco mode, go to Settings and select Eco. The thermostat's display should list existing “Heat to” and “Cool to” temperature settings. You can select each and adjust them to your desired temperature. When complete, select Done.

11. What Should I Do If My Nest Thermostat Isn't Compatible?

Nest thermostats can be integrated with most heating and cooling systems. Google, Nest's manufacturer, features a compatibility checking tool that presents a few questions related to your location and current setup to learn which Nest model is compatible with your system.

If you have a Nest and believe it’s not compatible with your system, it’s best to reach out to a professional for smart thermostat installation in Thedford. An experienced technician will be able to evaluate your system and, if your Nest is compatible, get it installed and on the road to saving you money in no time.

12. Can I Manually Control My Nest Thermostat?

Nest Thermostats come with many features designed to make life more comfortable and save money. However, there is a way to turn off the smart features if you prefer manual controls similar to normal thermostats.

Don't forget, by doing this you're eliminating your temperature schedules and allowing the Nest to work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and allow changes, but that’s about it.

Setting your thermostat to manual controls can be accomplished with the following steps:

• Auto-Schedule: From the main screen, go to Settings and then scroll to Nest Sense. Go to Auto-Schedule, select No and click Done.
• Eco: From the main screen, go to Settings, scroll to Eco. Once in Eco, select Off for both the current Heat to and Cool to temperatures, and select Done.
• Home/Away Assist: From the main screen, go to Settings and select Home/Away Assist. Then, select Stop Using and click Done.
• Reset: Once you’ve turned off the settings, reset your nest. From the main screen, go to Settings and select Reset, highlight Schedule and then select Reset to clear out any saved scheduling data.