12 Things You Need to Know About Your Nest Thermostat

A Nest Thermostat is an excellent tool for keeping your home comfortable, regardless of 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 — keeping costs down in the process.

That’s why more homeowners are considering adding devices like a Nest into their home. To add one to your home, call your nearest expert for smart thermostat installation in York.

From automated scheduling to monitoring your home’s energy efficiency, Nest makes controlling the climate of your home effortless.

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

1. How to Reset a Nest Thermostat

A key piece of information to know about resetting a Google Nest Thermostat is the difference between a restart and a reset.

• Restart: This process is similar across most electronics, including your phone or computer, restarting your Nest Thermostat turns it off before starting it right back up again. 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: Conversely, resetting eliminates most if not all of your preferred settings. People normally only use a reset when they’re moving to a new home and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they are moving out and want to erase any personal details from the Nest before leaving it for the next homeowner.

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 record your system wires, heating type and safety temperature settings.

Once you have recorded your preferences, go to Settings, select Reset and press. You can choose from five options:

• Restart: Shuts your Nest down and starts it back up while remembering your settings. Another way to restart is to press the outside of the Nest and hold it there until it goes black, at which point you can remove your hand.
• Schedule: This type of reset clears your entire temperature schedule—including for your hot water, if you have that programmed into your Nest. With this option, you’ll need to create a new schedule or wait until the Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: An Away reset gets rid of any programming your Nest has picked up about how often you walk by, so it will be able to change the temperature even when you're not around.
• Network: By selecting a network reset, it erases connection info and your Nest is disconnected from Wi-Fi. Use this option if you want your Nest to forget your Wi-Fi password.
• All Settings: The most far-reaching option, using the All Settings reset option clears all your personal settings and learning.

2. How to Connect Nest Thermostat to Wi-Fi

A stable internet connection is important if you want the most use of its online features.

To connect your Nest to the internet:

• Access the Quick View menu. This is done by turning the thermostat's outer ring.
• Locate the Settings icon.
• Press Network.
• After your Nest is finished scanning for local networks, find your Wi-Fi and, if needed, put in your password.

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

Nest thermostats are powered indirectly through HVAC system, but they also include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in situations where the power cuts out. According to Google, who manufactures the thermostat, a Nest Thermostat battery last an average of several months. It can be recharged using a USB charger that comes with the Nest.

4. Shutting Off a Nest Thermostat

If you plan on being away for a couple weeks, consider setting your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is also a good option. The Off mode option deactivates your regular heating and cooling schedules, but it will still adhere to any current Safety Temperatures to keep your home from getting dangerously hot or cold.

To select Off mode on the thermostat:

• Hold the touch bar until the display reads “Turn Off” and then slide the bar to highlight Turn Off, and then touch the bar to select.
• You can also go to Mode from the main menu and select Off.

Off mode can even be accessed from your Google Home app:

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

5. Will Alexa Work with a Nest Thermostat?

Yes, your Amazon Alexa can be used 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. Does a Nest Thermostat Work Without Wi-Fi?

In short, yes. Your Nest Thermostat can still control temperatures even without Wi-Fi. That being said, a lack of an internet connection means your Nest doesn’t have access to all the key features that most people enjoy.

7. Are You Able to 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 still has access to programmed settings—but simply prevents other users from constantly changing the settings.

If you want to lock your Nest:

• Select the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and find Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and do so 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. After you've entered the 4-digit pin, your device will be unlocked.

8. Adjusting a Nest Thermostat from a Phone

You can control the Nest through your Google Home app, accessible through your phone as well as a computer. Other versions of Nest, including the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, can also be controlled remotely by the Nest app.

Before you can control 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.
• Plug in 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.
• 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, you can find and adjust it 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, find your Thermostat before selecting Settings. At this screen, press Temperature Preferences and then Temperature Presets. The display will show your preferred 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

Your Nest allows you to schedule temperature programming 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, also can be controlled via the Nest app.

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

• Quick Schedule: Quick Schedules are based on the national average schedule for energy efficiency. As you complete your Nest's setup process, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. If you choose that option, it displays a preset schedule and allows you to make changes. After you've made all your choices, that’s the schedule it uses.
• Temperature Presets: If you prefer other basic preset options, open the Google Home app and select Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and select Edit. As soon as you're finished making updates, select Done.

To make tweaks or changes to your current schedule, open the Google Home app, select Thermostat and then tap on Schedules. Find the time of week you want to add a temperature to. Once you pick the day, tap Add and find the preset you want. Finally, select Time before touching and dragging the numbers to change the time. The changes won't save unless you select Done.

10. Setting 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 create a custom 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 make any and all adjustments. Once you're finished, select Done.

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

Nest thermostats are compatible with most HVAC systems. Google, Nest's manufacturer, features a compatibility checking tool that presents a few questions related to your location and existing setup to determine which Nest model would be compatible with your system.

If you have a Nest and believe it’s not compatible with your system, consider reaching out to professionals for smart thermostat installation in York. Technicians with the proper experience can assess 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, you have the ability to turn off the smart features if you prefer to control your Nest like it's a normal thermostat.

Remember, by doing this you are turning off all of your temperature schedules and allowing the Nest to work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and allow you to make changes, 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 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.