Cardinal Heating just acquired a new HVAC toy; the Nest Thermostat and we love it!
It doesn’t matter if you have a dozen kids (or four, in my case) or if it’s just you and the dog – multiple people in a home means multiple schedules and multiple needs. And yes, in my house, dogs count as people.
The Nest Learning Thermostat helps you manage different demands on your home, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
The Gladiators: You’re comfortable at 68°. She prefers 70°. The battle begins. Nest is great, but it can’t referee. So if your family changes the temperature several times during a short period, Nest will only remember the last adjustment. Of course if your opponent weakens and doesn’t change your temp fast enough – within an hour, for example – then Nest may remember both your adjustments.
The Constant Adjuster: If your four-year-old likes the way Nest looks when she turns it to 80° or your brother visiting from Maine prefers it a balmy 63°, you can lock the range of temperatures your thermostat can reach. Just go to SETTINGS and LOCK. Anyone approaching your thermostat will need to enter a four-digit code to turn Nest up higher or lower than the range you’ve set, and you’ll still have full control from the Web and Mobile app.
The Night Owl: Auto-Away won’t turn on at night, so if your kid is up late “studying” and turns on the heat, Nest may show him a message that says “72 for the night.” That means it’ll stay that warm until your next scheduled temp adjustment, probably in the morning. Nobody wants to sweat through their sheets, so remind your family to turn down the temp after a late night.
The Visitor: Your grandma comes home from Florida for the week. She’s home all day, gets up at 5AM and likes it at 70° all the time. She lives like a queen, but it’s seriously messing up Nest’s schedule. To avoid teaching Nest bad habits, pause Auto-Schedule for the week. Nest will stick to the schedule you’ve set, no matter how many times your kid turns up the heat at noon for breakfast. Just go to SETTINGS, LEARNING and SCHEDULE.
The Pet Lover: Don’t worry: Auto-Away won’t freeze Fido. Auto-Away turns Nest down automatically if it doesn’t sense any activity for a couple hours, but looks above most pet’s heads. Away temps can be set as low as 40° and as high as 85°, but you select those temperatures during setup and can make them as low or high as you like. Choose to heat to 64° or cool to 80° – it’ll save energy for you while keeping your pets comfortable. Want to adjust your Away temps? Go to SETTINGS, LEARNING and AUTO-AWAY on your Nest.
I Forgot to Set the Nest: No problem! Nest has the ability to be controlled by your smart phone, iPad or pc from anywhere in the world where you can connect to the Internet. You will never have to worry about leaving the heat on or coming back to your nest cold again.
Hopefully these tips will keep everyone in the family comfortable. But what do you think? Did we miss any Nest features that help you manage your busy home?
The installation manual says that an average handy homeowner can install a Nest. But not everyone can or wants to install Nest themselves, so that’s why Cardinal offers our professional installation service. Just call for an appointment at (425) 827-9997.
Check out the NEST website and watch the brief video.
http://www.nest.com/living-with-nest/
