12 Things to Learn About Nest Thermostats

A Nest Thermostat is an excellent tool for keeping your home comfortable, no matter what the season or weather. With a number of innovative features meant to maximize 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 want to put in a Nest for your own home, get in touch with an expert for smart thermostat installation in Croydon.

From auto scheduling to monitoring your home’s energy efficiency, Nest makes securing your sense of comfort effortless.

Curious to learn more? Take some time to review these 12 things you should know about your Nest Thermostat.

1. Resetting Your Nest Thermostat

The first thing to know about resetting a Google Nest Thermostat is that there's a difference between a restart and a reset.

• Restart: This process is similar across most electronics, including your phone or computer, restarting your Nest Thermostat means a quick off / on cycle. This records your existing thermostat settings, ad can reapply them once you're done confirming if your Nest is frozen or not connecting to Wi-Fi.
• Reset: A reset erases some or all of your settings. People normally only use a reset as they're moving homes and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they just want to erase any personal details from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

To initiate a reset, first write down your temperature settings so they're still available if you forget or erase them. Next, go to Settings -> Equipment and write down the details about your system wires, heating type and safety temperature settings.

After writing down this information, 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 there until it goes black, and then pull your hand away.
• 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 need to create a new schedule or wait while your Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: Choosing this reset option removes anything your Nest has learned about how often you walk by, so that it can update the temperature on its own.
• Network: With a network reset, it will remove all your network information and your Nest is disconnected from Wi-Fi. Use this option if you want your Nest to forget your Wi-Fi password.
• All Settings: Self-explanatory, an All Settings reset removes all your personal settings and learning.

2. How to Connect Nest Thermostat to Wi-Fi

Staying connected to your Wi-Fi is important for making the most of your Nest's features.

To connect your Nest to the internet:

• Access the Quick View menu. This is done by turning the thermostat's outer ring.
• Find the Settings icon.
• Press Network.
• As your Nest is finished scanning for local networks, select your Wi-Fi and, if necessary, 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 each one also features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in case of a power outage. According to Google, Nest's manufacturer, a Nest Thermostat battery should last several months. It can be recharged using a USB charger that comes with the Nest.

4. How to Turn Off a Nest Thermostat

If you won't be home for a while, it's a good idea to set your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is another solid choice. The Off mode option deactivates your regular heating and cooling schedules, although the Nest will still use your Safety Temperatures to keep your home from getting dangerously hot or cold.

To select Off mode on the thermostat:

• Press and hold the touch bar until it displays “Turn Off” and then slide 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. Is Alexa Compatible with a Nest Thermostat?

Yes, you can use Amazon Alexa to control a Nest Thermostat. This voice control function is 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 control the temperature of your home without Wi-Fi. However, without Wi-Fi a Nest doesn’t have the ability to use the smart functions that most people enjoy.

7. Can You Lock a Nest Thermostat?

If different members of your family can't agree on the ideal temperature, Nest has a function to give you the upper hand.

Users can lock the Nest to stop any temperature adjustments outside of a preset range. This doesn’t lock in a specific temperature—a locked Nest will still continue to run the programmed settings—but simply prevents other users from constantly changing the settings.

If you want to lock your Nest:

• Press the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and find Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and keep in mind this has to be entered twice.
• For locking a Nest in Heat or Cool mode, define 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, your device will be unlocked.

8. How to Control a Nest Thermostat from a Phone

A Nest Thermostat is controlled by the Google Home app, which can be accessed from your phone as well as a computer. Other versions of Nest, including the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, are also controllable through the Nest app.

Before you can make adjustments for a Nest on your phone with Google Home or the Nest app, there are a few steps to complete first:

• Download the Google Home app or, with premium Nest models, the Nest app to your phone.
• Connect your Nest Thermostat.
• Open the Google Home app on your phone and complete the setup process, link to your new device and connect to Wi-Fi.
• Google offers a more in-depth setup tool, if you prefer additional assistance in connecting.

After you've added the Nest to your Home app, it's accessible by clicking Thermostat on the home screen. Once you do that, you can change your Nest temperature by dragging your finger along the screen or tapping on a plus or minus sign.

You also can change preset Nest temperatures on the app. From the home screen, select Thermostat and then select Settings. At this screen, press Temperature Preferences and then Temperature Presets. Current presets for Comfort, Eco and Sleep modes will be displayed. Choose the appropriate setting to change the temperature for that preset.

9. Making a Nest Thermostat Schedule

A Nest allows you to set temperatures schedules 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: A Quick Schedule will be based on the national average schedule for energy efficiency. When you are setting up your Nest, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. If you select this feature, it displays a preset schedule for you to customize as you wish. Once setup is complete, that’s the schedule it will use.
• Temperature Presets: If you prefer other basic preset options, open the Google Home app and select Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and select Edit. After the changes are complete, select Done.

For anyone wanting to edit their schedule, open the Google Home app, select Thermostat and then tap on Schedules. You can then pick the day of the week that you want to add a temperature. After the day is selected, tap Add and select the preset you want. Finally, select Time before touching and dragging the numbers to change the time. Select Done to save changes.

10. Setting a Temperature Range on a Nest Thermostat

The Nest features an Eco mode ideal for setting custom temperature ranges. A key part of this feature is the Nest's ability to adjust the temperature based on whether it detects you at home or not.

To access Eco mode for customized temperature ranges, 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. Once you're finished, select Done.

11. What to Do if a Nest Thermostat Is Not Compatible

A Nest Thermostat is compatible with most heating and cooling systems. The maker of Nest, Google, features a compatibility checking tool that shares questions concerning your location and existing 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, you should get in touch with local pros for smart thermostat installation in Croydon. An experienced technician will be able to evaluate your system and, if your Nest is compatible, install it quick so you can jump right into the savings and convenience.

12. How Do I Manually Control My Nest Thermostat?

Nest Thermostats are packed with features designed to improve comfort while keeping costs low. However, there is a way to turn off the smart features if you prefer manual controls similar to normal thermostats.

Remember, 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 let you change the temperature, but that’s about it.

You can achieve this by disabling the settings in a series of 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 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: After you've cleared 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.