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 — saving you money in the process.

That’s why more people are looking to add devices like a Nest to their HVAC system. To add one to your home, reach out to an expert for smart thermostat installation in Neptune City.

From automated scheduling to monitoring your home’s energy efficiency, Nest is designed to make controlling the climate of your home effortless.

Want all the details? Here’s a look at 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 that there's a difference between a restart and a reset.

  • Restart: A common feature in consumer electronics, including your phone or computer, restarting your Nest Thermostat simply turns it off and then back on. This preserves current settings and should be attempted 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 are moving out and want to erase any personal details 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 reapplying them is faster. Next, go to Settings -> Equipment and record 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 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 clears all scheduling information—including for your hot water, if you've connected it to your Nest. By choosing this kind of reset, 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 it will be able to change the temperature even when you're not around.
  • Network: By selecting a network reset, it will remove all your network information and your Nest will no longer be connected 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

Staying connected to your Wi-Fi 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.
  • Find the Settings icon.
  • Press Network.
  • Once your Nest has scanned nearby networks, find your Wi-Fi and, if necessary, put in your password.

3. Does a Nest Thermostat Have a Battery and How Long Does It Last?

Nest thermostats are powered indirectly through HVAC system, but also have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for backup power in case of an outage. According to Google, who manufactures the thermostat, 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 won't be home for a while, it's a good idea to set your Nest Thermostat to Off mode, though Eco mode is also a good option. 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 select 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, Amazon's Alexa is compatible with a Nest Thermostat. Alexa voice controls are also available with Nest doorbells and cameras. And of course, you can use Google Assistant to control your Nest.

6. Does a Nest Thermostat Work Without Wi-Fi?

The good news is that a Nest Thermostat can control the temperature of your home without Wi-Fi. At the same time, without Wi-Fi a Nest doesn’t have the ability to use the smart functions that most people enjoy.

7. Can You Lock a Nest Thermostat?

If different members of your family can't agree on the ideal temperature, Nest has a function to give you the upper hand.

Nest has a locking feature that allows a user to keep it from making any adjustments 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 tap on Lock.
  • Enter a 4-digit pin number you can remember, and then enter it 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.

To unlock a Nest, open the settings and choose Unlock. After you've entered the 4-digit pin, the Nest will be unlocked.

8. Controlling Your Nest Thermostat from Your Phone

You can control the Nest through 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, 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, 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.
  • Access the Google Home app on your phone and complete the setup process, link to your new device and connect to Wi-Fi.
  • Google offers a more in-depth setup tool, 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 make changes to the temperature by dragging your finger along the screen or tapping on a plus or minus sign.

The preset temperatures on your Nest can also be changed from the app. From the home screen, find your Thermostat before selecting Settings. Once there, press Temperature Preferences and then Temperature Presets. The display will show your preferred Comfort, Eco and Sleep temperatures. Choose the appropriate setting 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, are also controllable with the Nest app.

The two easiest ways to schedule your Nest are:

  • Quick Schedule: Quick Schedules are based on the national average schedule for more energy-efficient use. As you set the thermostat up, the Google Home app allows you to change the temperature with a schedule. When choosing this option, 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 select Thermostat. Then, tap Presets and select 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. 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. Your update won't be applied until you select Done.

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 create a custom temperature range in Eco mode, 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. Once you're finished, select Done.

11. What to Do if a Nest Thermostat Is Not Compatible

Nest thermostats are compatible with most HVAC systems. Google, Nest's manufacturer, has an online compatibility checker that asks a series of questions about your location and existing setup to determine which Nest model works 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 Neptune City. An experienced technician will be able to 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 packed with features designed to increase comfort and decrease costs. However, you have the ability to turn off the smart features if you prefer to control your Nest like it's a normal thermostat.

Remember, by doing this you're eliminating your temperature schedules and your Nest will 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, 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.