A Nest Thermostat is the perfect way to keep your home comfortable, no matter what 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 — saving you money in the process.
That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest into their home. If you're interested in trying a Nest yourself, get in touch with an expert for smart thermostat installation in Belton.
From automated scheduling to energy efficiency monitoring, Nest makes securing your sense of comfort effortless.
Ready to learn more? Here’s a look at 12 things you need to know about your Nest Thermostat.
1. How to Reset a 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: 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 maintains all your settings and is a step to take 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 as they're moving into a new house 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 for the next homeowner.
To initiate a reset, first write down your temperature settings so you have them if they get erased. Next, find Settings -> Equipment and write down the details about your system wires, heating type and safety temperature settings.
Then, to manually restart or reset your Nest, 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 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 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: Choosing this reset option removes anything your Nest has learned about how often you walk by, so that it can change the temperature accordingly.
- Network: By selecting a network reset, it forgets connection logins and your Nest is disconnected from Wi-Fi. It also forgets 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
Staying connected to your 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.
- Select Network.
- As your Nest scans available networks, locate 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 receive power from your HVAC system, but each one also features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup in case of a power outage. According to Google, the maker of Nest, a Nest Thermostat battery should last several months. The Nest's battery is rechargable with a USB cable included with the thermostat.
4. Shutting Off a Nest Thermostat
If you aren’t going to be in your home for a long time, it's a good idea to set 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, although the Nest will still use your Safety Temperatures to keep your home from getting particularly hot or cold.
To find 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 voice controls are also available with Nest doorbells and cameras. You can even operate a Nest Thermostat with Google Assistant.
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, a lack of an internet connection means your Nest doesn’t have the smart thermostat functions that most people enjoy.
7. Are You Able to Lock a Nest Thermostat?
When family members can't stop bickering over temperatures, 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 won't mean you have to make do with just one temperature—a locked Nest continues to use existing program settings—but simply prevents people from 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 keep in mind this has to be entered twice.
- To lock your Nest in Heat or Cool mode, fine-tune 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. As soon as you've provided your 4-digit pin, your device will be unlocked.
8. Adjusting a Nest Thermostat from a Phone
Nest thermostats can be controlled by your Google Home app, accessible through your phone or desktop 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, you need to follow a few steps:
- Download the Google Home app or, if you have an advanced model, the Nest app to your phone.
- Plug in 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.
- There is a guided setup tool on Google, 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, you can change your Nest temperature 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. Once there, 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. How to Set 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, are also controllable with the Nest app.
You have two primary ways to establish a temperature schedule on a Nest Thermostat:
- 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. Once setup is complete, that’s the schedule it uses.
- Temperature Presets: To change the temperature presets on your Nest, open the Google Home app and press Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and choose Edit. Once you’ve made the changes, select Done.
To make tweaks or changes to your current schedule, 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 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. 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 access Eco mode for customized temperature ranges, 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 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 HVAC systems. Google, Nest's manufacturer, offers a compatibility tool that presents a few questions related to 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 Belton. 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 loaded with innovative features designed to increase comfort and decrease costs. However, you have the ability to turn off the smart features if you prefer manual controls similar to normal thermostats.
Don't forget, by doing this you are turning off all of your temperature schedules and letting the Nest 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.