12 Things You Need to Know About Your Nest Thermostat

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

From automated scheduling to energy efficiency monitoring, Nest is designed to make home climate control effortless.

Curious 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 resetting is different from restarting.

• Restart: A common feature in consumer electronics, including your tablet 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. In most cases, people resort to a reset as they're moving into a new house and bringing the thermostat with them, or if they just want to erase any personal details from the Nest before leaving it behind for the next resident.

To reset, it helps to record existing 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 will be presented with five options:

• Restart: Turns your Nest off and starts it back up while remembering 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 reset setting clears any info about your temperature schedule—including for your hot water, if you have that programmed into your Nest. With this option, you’ll have to input 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 update the temperature on its own.
• Network: With a network reset, it erases connection info 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: 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

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.
• Select Network.
• After your Nest has scanned nearby networks, locate your Wi-Fi and, if needed, enter 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 also have 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. Recharge it with the USB cord that comes included.

4. How to Turn Off a Nest Thermostat

If you aren’t going to be in your home for a long time, consider setting your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is another solid choice. Off mode shuts down all 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:

• 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.
• 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. 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. Google's own voice control technology, like Google Assistant, can be used to operate your Nest.

6. Will My Nest Thermostat Function Without Wi-Fi?

The good news is that a Nest Thermostat will still be able to adjust the temperatures without Wi-Fi. That being said, a lack of an internet connection means your Nest doesn’t have access to all the key features that most people enjoy.

7. Are You Able to Lock a Nest Thermostat?

If different members of your family can't agree on the ideal temperature, Nest offers a handy feature that keeps things simple.

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 lock in a specific 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:

• Tap the Settings icon, scroll to the bottom and find Lock.
• Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and do so twice.
• For locking a Nest in Heat or Cool mode, select your maximum and minimum temperature range before tapping Lock at the bottom of the screen.

For unlocking it, open the settings and choose Unlock. After you've entered the 4-digit pin, your device will be unlocked.

8. Adjusting a Nest Thermostat from a Phone

You can control the Nest through 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.
• Connect your Nest Thermostat.
• Access 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 would like more assistance in connecting.

Once you’ve added your Nest to your Home app, you can find and adjust it 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.

The app also allows you to change the Nest's preset temperatures. From the home screen, select Thermostat before selecting Settings. Once there, 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. Making 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, 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 more energy-efficient use. When you are setting up your Nest, 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 for you to customize as you wish. 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.

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 find 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. 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

Nest thermostats are compatible with most HVAC systems. The maker of Nest, Google, offers a compatibility tool that asks a series of questions about your location and current setup to see which Nest model would be compatible with your system.

If you have a Nest and believe it’s not compatible with your system, consider reaching out to professionals for smart thermostat installation in Albuquerque. Experienced technicians 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 packed with 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.

Remember, by doing this you are turning off all of your temperature schedules and your Nest will work like any other thermostat—it will display the temperature and allow 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 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: 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.