12 Things to Learn About Nest Thermostats

A Nest Thermostat is the perfect way to keep your home comfortable, regardless of the season or weather. With a number of innovative features meant to maximize efficiency, convenience and comfort, a Nest Thermostat is the perfect solution if you want to 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, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Jefferson City.

From auto scheduling to monitoring your home’s energy efficiency, Nest is designed to make controlling the climate of your home effortless.

Want all the details? Take some time to review these 12 things you should 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 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. In most cases, people resort to a reset as they're moving homes and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they just want to erase all personal info from the Nest before leaving it for the next homeowner.

To reset, first write down your temperature settings so they're still available if you forget or erase them. Next, locate 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: Shuts your Nest down and starts it back up while remembering your settings. Another method is to press the outside of the Nest and hold it down for a few seconds until it goes black, and then pull your hand away.
• Schedule: This type of reset clears your entire temperature schedule—including for your hot water, if that has been connected to your Nest. By choosing this kind of reset, you’ll need to create a new schedule or wait until the Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: This kind of reset removes anything your Nest has learned about how often you walk by, so that it can change the temperature accordingly.
• Network: If you select this reset option, it erases connection info and your Nest can no longer connect to Wi-Fi. Use this option if you want your Nest to forget your Wi-Fi password.
• All Settings: This 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:

• Turn the thermostat ring to the Quick View menu.
• Select the Settings icon.
• Press Network.
• After your Nest scans available networks, locate your Wi-Fi and, if needed, enter your password.

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

Nest thermostats get the power they need directly from your HVAC system, but also have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in case of a power outage. According to Google, Nest's manufacturer, a Nest Thermostat battery last an average of several months. Recharge it with the USB cord that comes included.

4. How to Turn Off a Nest Thermostat

If you plan on being away for a couple weeks, it's a good idea to set your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is also a good option. Using Off mode will turn off all of your regular heating and cooling schedules, but it will still adhere to any current Safety Temperatures to keep your home from getting especially hot or cold.

To choose 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, your Amazon Alexa can be used to control 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 Function Without Wi-Fi?

Yes, your Nest Thermostat can still control temperatures even without Wi-Fi. At the same time, 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?

If you’re having a battle over the thermostat in your home between people who like things hot and others who prefer them cold, Nest can help you bring a little order back to your household.

Users can lock the Nest to stop any temperature 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 keeps these settings from being changed.

If you want to lock your Nest:

• Press the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and tap on Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and do so twice.
• If locking in Heat or Cool mode, define your maximum and minimum temperature range and then press 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, the Nest will be unlocked.

8. Controlling Your Nest Thermostat from a Phone

Nest thermostats can be controlled by your Google Home app, which can be accessed from your phone or desktop 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 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, with premium Nest models, the Nest app to your phone.
• Connect your Nest Thermostat.
• Access the Google Home app on your phone and select the account, link to your new device and connect to Wi-Fi.
• Google has created a more comprehensive setup guide, for those needing extra assistance in connecting.

Once you’ve added your Nest to your Home app, you can access 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.

You also can change preset Nest temperatures on the app. From the home screen, choose Thermostat and then select Settings. At this screen, select 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. 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. Newer and advanced models of the Nest, such as the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat, can also be adjusted by using the Nest app.

The two easiest ways to schedule your Nest are:

• Quick Schedule: The Quick Schedule feature is 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. When choosing this option, it presents a preset schedule before letting you customize it. Once setup is complete, that’s the schedule it will use.
• Temperature Presets: For changing the Nest's preset temperatures, open the Google Home app and select Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and select Edit. Once you’ve made the changes, 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. Once you pick the day, tap Add and select the preset you want. Finally, select Time before touching and dragging the numbers to change the time. Your update won't be applied until you select Done.

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 create a custom temperature range in Eco mode, go to Settings and select Eco. That should display the current “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 Should I Do If My Nest Thermostat Isn't Compatible?

A Nest Thermostat is compatible with most heating and cooling systems. Google, Nest's manufacturer, features a compatibility checking tool that asks a series of questions about your location and existing setup to see 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 Jefferson City. Technicians with the proper experience can assess your system and, if your Nest is compatible, get it installed and on the road to saving you money in no time.

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 want to control a Nest manually like a normal thermostat.

Bear in mind, by doing this you're eliminating your temperature schedules and your Nest will work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and allow you to make 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 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.