12 Things You Need to Know About Your Nest Thermostat

A Nest Thermostat is a great investment for keeping 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 an easy way to manage your energy use — keeping costs down in the process.

That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest into their home. To add one to your home, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Booneville.

From auto scheduling to optimizing energy efficiency, Nest helps 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. Resetting Your Nest Thermostat

One of the first things to know about resetting a Google Nest Thermostat is that there's a difference between a restart and a reset.

• Restart: A common feature in consumer 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: A reset erases some or all of your settings. For the most part, homeowners will perform a reset as they're moving homes and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they are moving out and want to erase their personal information from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

If you want to perform a reset, it doesn't hurt to write down current temperature settings so you have them if they get erased. Next, go to Settings -> Equipment and record your system wires, heating type and safety temperature settings.

After writing down this information, go to Settings, select Reset and press. You will be presented with five options:

• Restart: Shuts your Nest down and reboots it while saving your settings. You can also 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 you have that programmed into 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: An Away reset removes anything your Nest has learned about how often you walk by, so that it can change the temperature accordingly.
• Network: With a network reset, it will remove all your network information 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: Self-explanatory, an All Settings reset strips away 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.
• Once your Nest scans available 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 get the power they need directly from your HVAC system, but each one also features 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 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, consider setting your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode would be another 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 particularly hot or cold.

To find Off mode on the thermostat:

• Hold the touch bar until the display reads “Turn Off” before sliding 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 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. Does a 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. Are You Able to Lock a Nest Thermostat?

When family members can't stop bickering over temperatures, Nest can help you bring a little order back to your household.

A user can 'lock' the Nest to prevent others from adjusting the settings or changing the temperature outside of a preset range. This won't mean you have to make do with just one temperature—a locked Nest still has access to programmed settings—but simply prevents people from 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 then enter it twice.
• To lock your Nest in Heat or Cool mode, define your maximum and minimum temperature range before tapping Lock at the bottom of the screen.

For unlocking it, 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, accessible through your phone or other smart device, including 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, if you have an advanced model, the Nest app to your phone.
• Connect your Nest Thermostat.
• Open the Google Home app on your phone and select the 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.

As soon as you've connected the Nest to your Home app, you can access it by clicking Thermostat on the home screen. Once you do that, you can make changes to the temperature 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. Once there, select Temperature Preferences and then Temperature Presets. This will display your preset Comfort, Eco and Sleep temperatures. Select one of these options to change the temperature for that preset.

9. Making 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, are also controllable with 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 more energy-efficient use. As you set the thermostat up, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. If you choose that option, it presents a preset schedule before letting you customize it. Once setup is complete, 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. 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. The changes won't save unless you select Done.

10. Setting a Temperature Range on a Nest Thermostat

You can set a temperature range on a Nest Thermostat in the Eco mode. 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 your preferred changes. 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. Google, Nest's manufacturer, has an online compatibility checker that shares questions concerning your location and existing setup to determine which Nest model works with your system.

If you don't think your Nest is compatible with your system, you should get in touch with local pros for smart thermostat installation in Booneville. Experienced technicians evaluate 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 loaded with innovative features designed to make life more comfortable and save money. However, you have the ability to turn off the smart features if you want to control a Nest manually like a normal thermostat.

Take into account, 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 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 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.