A Nest Thermostat is the perfect way to keep your home comfortable, regardless of the season or weather. With features designed around maximizing efficiency, convenience and comfort, a Nest Thermostat is an excellent choice to help you manage your energy use — saving you money in the process.
That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest to their homes. To add one to your home, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Port St. Lucie.
With everything from automatic scheduling to energy efficiency monitoring, Nest makes securing your sense of comfort effortless.
Ready 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 resetting is different from restarting.
- Restart: Similar to restarting any electronic device, 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. In most cases, people resort to 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 all personal info from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.
If you want to perform a reset, it helps to record existing temperature settings so you have them if they get erased. Next, go to Settings -> Equipment and write down the details about 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: Deactivates your Nest before rebooting it with your settings. Another way to restart is to press the outside of the Nest and hold it down for a few seconds until it turns black, at which point you can remove your hand.
- Schedule: This reset setting clears your entire temperature schedule—including for your hot water, if you've connected it to your Nest. With this option, you’ll have to input 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 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 clears all your personal settings and learning.
2. How to Connect Nest Thermostat to Wi-Fi
Connecting to Wi-Fi is important for making the most of your Nest's features.
To connect your Nest to the internet:
- Turn the thermostat ring to the Quick View menu.
- Select the Settings icon.
- Press Network.
- As your Nest has scanned nearby networks, select your Wi-Fi and, if necessary, put in your password.
3. Does a Nest Thermostat Use a Battery and How Long Does It Last?
Nest thermostats get the power they need directly from your HVAC system, but they also include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in case of a power outage. According to Google, who manufactures the thermostat, a Nest Thermostat battery last an average of several months. The Nest's battery is rechargable with a USB cable included with the thermostat.
4. How to Turn 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 another solid choice. 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 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. Can Alexa Control a Nest Thermostat?
Yes, you can use Amazon Alexa to control a Nest Thermostat. Alexa can also be integrated with 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?
The good news is that a Nest Thermostat can control the temperature of your home without Wi-Fi. However, without Wi-Fi a Nest doesn’t have the smart thermostat functions 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 won't mean you have to make do with just one 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:
- 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 do so twice.
- If locking 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. Controlling Your Nest Thermostat from Your 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, 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 follow the instructions to select your account, link to your new device and connect to Wi-Fi.
- There is a guided setup tool on Google, if you would like more 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, you can make changes to the temperature by dragging your finger along the screen or tapping on a plus or minus sign.
The app also allows you to change the Nest's preset temperatures. From the home screen, choose 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. Select one of these options to change the temperature for that preset.
9. Setting a Nest Thermostat Schedule
You can set a temperature schedule on a Nest Thermostat 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 more energy-efficient use. As you complete your Nest's setup process, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. If you select this feature, it displays a preset schedule before letting you customize it. After you've made all your choices, that’s the schedule it uses.
- Temperature Presets: For changing the Nest's preset temperatures, open the Google Home app and press Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and choose Edit. As soon as you're finished making updates, select Done.
If you already have a schedule and want to change it, open the Google Home app, select Thermostat and then tap on Schedules. Choose the day of the week where you want to make changes. 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. How to Set 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 display will show any current “Heat to” and “Cool to” temperature settings. You can select each and make any and all adjustments. When complete, select Done.
11. What to Do if a Nest Thermostat Is Not Compatible
A Nest Thermostat is compatible with most HVAC systems. The maker of Nest, Google, has an online compatibility checker that asks a series of questions about 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, it’s best to reach out to a professional for smart thermostat installation in Port St. Lucie. 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 loaded with innovative features designed to increase comfort and decrease costs. However, there is a way to turn off the smart features if you prefer manual controls similar to normal thermostats.
Take into account, by doing this you clear all your temperature schedules and letting the Nest 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 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.
