12 Things You Need to Know About Your Nest Thermostat

A Nest Thermostat is a great investment for keeping your home comfortable, no matter what 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 — keeping costs down 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, call your nearest expert for smart thermostat installation in Kearney.

With everything from automatic scheduling to energy efficiency monitoring, Nest helps make securing your sense of comfort effortless.

Curious to learn more? Take some time to review these 12 things you need to know about your Nest Thermostat.

1. How to Reset a Nest Thermostat

A key piece of information to know about resetting a Google Nest Thermostat is the difference between a restart and a reset.

• 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 maintains all your settings and is a step to take if your Nest is frozen or not connecting to Wi-Fi.
• Reset: A reset erases some or all of your settings. People normally only use a reset as they're moving homes and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they just want to erase all personal info from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

To reset, it helps to record existing temperature settings so they're still available if you forget or erase them. 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 can choose from five options:

• Restart: Deactivates your Nest before rebooting it with your settings. You can also press the outside of the Nest and hold it there 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 that has been connected to your Nest. With this option, you’ll be given the chance to plan out a new schedule or wait until the Nest learns your schedule.
• Away: This kind of reset erases all the information 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 erases connection info 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 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:

• Turn the thermostat ring to the Quick View menu.
• Locate the Settings icon.
• Select Network.
• Once your Nest scans available networks, find your Wi-Fi and, if necessary, put in your password.

3. Does a Nest Thermostat Have a Battery and How Long Will the Battery 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 power in case of an outage. According to Google, Nest's manufacturer, 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 plan on being away for a couple weeks, you can set your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is another solid choice. Off mode shuts down all 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 find 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 can even be accessed from your Google Home app:

• Select Thermostat from home screen
• Tap Temperature mode
• Select Off

5. Will Alexa Work with 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. Google's own voice control technology, like Google Assistant, can be used to operate your Nest.

6. Can a Nest Thermostat Function Without Wi-Fi?

Yes, your Nest Thermostat can control the temperature of your home without Wi-Fi. However, being disconnected from Wi-FI means the 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 can help you bring a little order back to your household.

Nest has a locking feature that allows a user to prevent others from adjusting the settings or changing the temperature 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 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 do so twice.
• If locking in Heat or Cool mode, fine-tune 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, your device will be unlocked.

8. How to Control a Nest Thermostat from a Phone

Nest thermostats can be controlled by your Google Home app, which is accessible on your phone or desktop 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, 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.
• There is a guided setup tool on Google, if you prefer additional assistance in connecting.

As soon as you've connected 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, choose Thermostat before selecting 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, can also be adjusted by using the Nest app.

There are two ways you can set up a schedule on your Nest:

• Quick Schedule: Quick Schedules are based on the national average schedule for energy efficiency. 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 presents a preset schedule and allows you to make changes. Once setup is complete, that’s the schedule it will use.
• Temperature Presets: To change the temperature presets on your Nest, open the Google Home app and select Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and choose Edit. Once you’ve made the changes, 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. Find the time of week you want to add a temperature to. 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

The Nest features an Eco mode ideal for setting custom temperature ranges. 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 make any and all adjustments. Once you're finished, select Done.

11. What Should I Do If My Nest Thermostat Isn't 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 learn which Nest model works 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 Kearney. 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 increase comfort and decrease costs. However, you can actually turn off the smart features if you want to control a Nest manually like a normal thermostat.

Don't forget, by doing this you clear all your temperature schedules and allowing the Nest to work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and allow 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 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.