12 Things to Learn About Nest Thermostats

A Nest Thermostat is an excellent tool for keeping your home comfortable, regardless of the season or weather. With features designed around maximizing efficiency, convenience and comfort, a Nest Thermostat is the perfect solution if you want to manage your energy use — saving you money in the process.

That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest into their home. If you want to put in a Nest for your own home, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Cache Valley.

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

Curious to learn more? Take a look at 12 things you need to know about your Nest Thermostat.

1. Resetting Your 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 turns it off before starting it right back up again. This preserves current settings and should be attempted if your Nest is frozen or not connecting to Wi-Fi.
• Reset: Conversely, resetting eliminates most if not all of your preferred settings. In most cases, people resort to a reset as they're moving into a new house and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they just want to erase any personal details from the Nest before leaving it for the next homeowner.

If you want to perform a reset, first write down your temperature settings so reapplying them is faster. Next, find 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 will be presented with five options:

• Restart: Shuts your Nest down and starts it back up while remembering your settings. You can also press the outside of the Nest and hold it there until it turns black, and then pull your hand away.
• Schedule: This type of reset clears all scheduling information—including for your hot water, if that has been connected to your Nest. If you choose this, you’ll be given the chance to plan out a new schedule or wait while your Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: This kind of 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 forgets connection logins 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

Connecting to Wi-Fi is important to getting the most out of your Nest.

To connect your Nest to the internet:

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

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

Nest thermostats are powered indirectly through HVAC system, but each one also features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in situations where the power cuts out. According to Google, Nest's manufacturer, a Nest Thermostat battery should last several months. Recharge it with the USB cord that comes included.

4. Shutting 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 also a good option. 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 select 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. Is Alexa Compatible 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. Can a Nest Thermostat Work Without Wi-Fi?

In short, yes. Your Nest Thermostat can still control temperatures even without Wi-Fi. However, being disconnected from Wi-FI means the Nest doesn’t have the ability to use the smart functions 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.

Users can lock the Nest 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 still has access to programmed settings—but simply keeps these settings from being changed.

If you want to lock your Nest:

• Tap the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and tap on Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and then enter it twice.
• For locking a Nest in Heat or Cool mode, select your maximum and minimum temperature range before tapping Lock at the bottom of the screen.

When you're ready to unlock the Nest, open the settings and choose Unlock. After you've entered the 4-digit pin, your device will be unlocked.

8. How to Control a Nest Thermostat from a Phone

You can control the Nest through 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, 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, with premium Nest models, the Nest app to your phone.
• Hook up your Nest Thermostat.
• Access the Google Home app on your phone and follow the instructions to select your account, 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.

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.

The preset temperatures on your Nest can also be changed from the app. From the home screen, find your 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. By selecting one of those three options, you can change the temperature for that preset.

9. Setting a Nest Thermostat Schedule

A Nest allows you to set temperatures schedules 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, also can be controlled via 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 more energy-efficient use. As you set the thermostat up, the Google Home app gives you the option to change the temperature with a schedule. If you select this feature, it will show 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. 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. 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. How to Set a Temperature Range on a Nest Thermostat

You can set a temperature range on a Nest Thermostat in the Eco mode. Your Nest will adjust the temperature depending on if you're at home or away.

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?

Nest thermostats can be integrated with most heating and cooling systems. The maker of Nest, Google, has an online compatibility checker that shares questions concerning your location and current setup to see which Nest model is compatible with your system.

If you don't think your Nest is compatible with your system, consider reaching out to professionals for smart thermostat installation in Cache Valley. 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 come with many features designed to make life more comfortable and save money. However, you can actually 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 your Nest will work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and let you change the temperature, 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, before selecting 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.