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 range of features and programs designed for maximum 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 homes. If you're interested in trying a Nest yourself, get in touch with an expert for smart thermostat installation in Mission Viejo.

From auto scheduling to monitoring your home’s energy efficiency, Nest is designed to make home climate control 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 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 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 when they’re moving to a new home and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they're moving out and prefer to erase their personal information from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

To initiate a reset, first write down your temperature settings so reapplying them is faster. 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: Turns your Nest off before rebooting it with your settings. Another way to restart is to press the outside of the Nest and hold it there until it turns black, and then pull your hand away.
• Schedule: This reset clears all scheduling information—including for your hot water, if you have that programmed into your Nest. If you choose this, you’ll need to create a new schedule or wait until the Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: Choosing this reset option gets rid of any programming your Nest has picked up about how often you walk by, so that it can update the temperature on its own.
• Network: With a network reset, it forgets connection logins and your Nest can no longer connect to Wi-Fi. It also forgets your Wi-Fi password.
• All Settings: The most far-reaching option, using the All Settings reset option clears 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:

• Open the Quick View menu by turning the thermostat ring.
• Select the Settings icon.
• Press Network.
• After your Nest has scanned nearby networks, find your Wi-Fi and, if necessary, 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 they also include a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup power in case of an outage. According to Google, the maker of Nest, a Nest Thermostat battery will generally last 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 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 dangerously hot or cold.

To choose Off mode on the thermostat:

• Hold the touch bar until the display reads “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. Is Alexa Compatible with a Nest Thermostat?

Yes, Amazon's Alexa is compatible with 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. Will My Nest Thermostat Work Without Wi-Fi?

In short, yes. Your Nest Thermostat will still be able to adjust the temperatures without Wi-Fi. That being said, 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 can help you bring a little order back to your household.

Nest has a locking feature that allows a user to stop any temperature adjustments outside of a preset range. This doesn’t lock in a specific temperature—a locked Nest continues to use existing program settings—but simply prevents other users from constantly changing the settings.

To lock a Nest:

• Press 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, 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. After you've entered the 4-digit pin, your device will be unlocked.

8. Controlling Your Nest Thermostat from a Phone

Nest thermostats can be controlled by your Google Home app, which is accessible on your phone as well as a 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 control 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.
• Hook up your Nest Thermostat.
• Open 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 has created a more comprehensive setup guide, if you prefer additional assistance in connecting.

After you've added the Nest to your Home app, it's accessible 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, find your Thermostat before selecting Settings. Once there, press 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. How to Set 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, also can be controlled via the Nest app.

You have two primary ways to establish a temperature schedule on a Nest Thermostat:

• Quick Schedule: A Quick Schedule will be based on the national average schedule for energy efficiency. As you set the thermostat up, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. If you select this feature, it presents a preset schedule before letting you customize it. After you've made all your choices, that’s the schedule it will use.
• 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.

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. Select Done to save changes.

10. How to Set 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 thermostat's display should list existing “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 current setup to determine which Nest model is compatible with your system.

If you don't think your Nest is compatible with your system, it’s best to reach out to a professional for smart thermostat installation in Mission Viejo. 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 come with many features designed to increase comfort and decrease costs. However, there is a way 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're eliminating your temperature schedules and allowing the Nest to 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 current 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: After you've cleared 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.