How to Install a Nest Learning Thermostat | by Thomas Smith | Do-It-Yourself Home Automation | Feb, 2021 – Medium

Photo by Dan LeFebvre on Unsplash

Getting frustrated with constantly changing the schedule on your old-school thermostat? Or maybe you never learned to change it in the first place and its been stuck on 73 degrees for the last year.

Either way, traditional thermostats arent ideal. Unless you take the time to update them continually (at least once per season, when the weather changes), theyre inefficient and tend to waste power by running your heating and air conditioning unnecessarily.

For many homeowners, smart thermostats are a better choice. According to a study by Googles Nest division, smart thermostats can save homeowners between 10% to 15% on heating and cooling costs. Over the course of several years, those savings can be quite significant. Smart thermostats also allow for remote control of your homes temperature from your phone, and many thermostats automatically switch the HVAC on and off when you arrive home or leave for the day.

Googles Nest Learning Thermostat can be a great choice for a smart thermostat in your home. Ive heard of other people using and enjoying the Ecobee thermostat (which is backed by Amazon), as well. One of the biggest advantages of the Nest Thermostat is that its relatively easy for many homeowners to install. I recently installed my own Nest Learning Thermostat. The whole process took me about 45 minutes.

Heres how I installed my Nest.

Quick caveat: Installing a thermostat requires working with electrical power and making modifications to your home. Make sure that youre comfortable doing this before proceeding. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, always hire a licensed electrician to assist with your installation.

First, I located the circuit breaker for my HVAC system.

You always want your system to be switched completely off before adding a thermostat or making other changes. I flipped my circuit breaker, and then checked to ensure that the system wasnt operating my setting my thermostat to different settings, turning the fan on manually, etc. I confirmed that it was fully off.

I removed the cover from my ancient thermostat.

I then pulled up the Nest app on my phone, and selected the option to add a new device. I scanned the QR code on my thermostat, and the app brought up various screens to walk me through the install process.

At this point, Nest says to check to make sure there arent any high voltage wires in your own system. According to Nest:

If your thermostat is labeled 120V or 240V or has thick wires with wire nuts, your system is high voltage and isnt compatible with the Nest thermostat. Do not connect the Nest thermostat to high-voltage wires.

If you suspect that your system might be high-voltage, stop immediately and call an electrician.

Mine wasnt, so I moved ahead. First, I took a picture of the old thermostat, in case I need to install it again in the future (not likely!).

The next step was to use wire labels provided in the box with my thermostat in order to label the wires coming out of my wall. There are lots of different wires to choose from, so follow the instructions and check the panel on your old thermostat to label them properly.

I unscrewed each wire.

And for each one, I added one of the little sticky labels to identify it properly.

When I was done, all of my wires were labeled and disconnected from the old thermostat.

Nest says to wrap the wires around a pen or pencil so they wont fall back into the wall.

Next, I unscrewed the old thermostats base and removed it from the wall.

Next, I slid the old thermostat over the wires and off the wall. It went right into the trash.

Heres what my wall looked like with the old thermostat gone.

Now the old thermostat was gone, and it was time to install the Nest Learning Thermostat. The first step was to install the new Nest base plate.

I threaded it over the exposed wires and positioned it on the wall.

Theres a small bubble level built into the base plate (you can see it in blue), and I used it to make sure the base plate was aligned properly. Next, I used a screwdriver and the screws provided by Nest in order to screw the base plate into the wall.

Next, I matched each wire label from the earlier step with the properly labeled attachment point on the base plate of the Nest thermostat. This is simple, because youre just matching the exact code on the wire with the proper attachment point.

Each homes thermostat is different, so you might have different labels than I do. Again, follow the instructions in the Nest app to complete your specific installation.

Heres how the baseplate looked once all my wires were connected. I tucked the main wire back into the wall so that it was basically flush with the base plate.

The final step was to plop the new Nest thermostat face onto the baseplate. It snapped easily in place. I switched the circuit breaker for my system back on, and the thermostat came to life!

Here it is fully installed. I followed the setup instructions in the Nest app to connect it to my homes Wifi network and start its smart features.

Ive been using the new thermostat for about a month, and it works great. Its been really nice to be able to control the thermostat from my phone when Im upstairs. The thermostat quickly learned my routine of turning the heat down at night, and started to do that automatically.

I havent gotten my next electrical bill yet, so I cant verify the cost savings, but already Ive found the Nest thermostat helpful. And again, the installation process was pretty painless. I also got a second Nest to install in another heat/cool zone in my home, and I expect the install process will go even faster next time.

If youre looking for a smart thermostat thats relatively easy to install and can potentially save you a bunch of money on heating and cooling costs check out the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Read more:
How to Install a Nest Learning Thermostat | by Thomas Smith | Do-It-Yourself Home Automation | Feb, 2021 - Medium