A typical American home shells out a minimum of $2,000 annually on power bills. Nest thermostats are a godsend for them as they can help lower the heating bills by 10% to 12% and cooling bills by 15% annually. Some homes have programmable thermostats, but none of them are as advanced and as efficient as Nest.
What Makes Nest Different
Nest is a revolutionary thermostat from Google that has learning capabilities. From the moment you install it and switch it on, it starts learning your preferences and schedule. Based on the data it gathers, it presents the homeowners with the most energy-efficient program. That is not all it does.
Using its innovative technology, it detects the presence of mobile phones in the vicinity to perceive whether the home is occupied or unoccupied. When it detects nobody is at home, it automatically goes into the energy-saving mode without any input from the family.
Topping all benefits is the fact that one can voice control Nest via Google Home or Alexa. You can also use the Google Nest App on your phone to keep an eye on heating and cooling from anywhere in the world.
Upgrading To The Nest Smart Thermostat
After learning about how good the Nest Smart Thermostats are, it is obvious you, too, must be enticed to upgrade your old thermostat. However, before you can do that, it is critical to find out whether your residential heating and cooling system is compatible with it or not. If it is well and good, but just in case it isn’t, buying a Nest thermostat will only be an additional expense with no benefit.
Compatibility Of Nest Thermostats
1. Google Nest thermostats are built to work with most 24 V HVAC systems, including older systems. They work with heating and cooling systems powered by natural gas, oil, and electricity.
2. At the time of setup, the Google Home or Nest app guides you through all the steps to tell whether your current HVAC system is compatible with the Nest thermostat or not. The app also gives a custom wiring guide for the thermostat so that you can install it easily.
3. To check your system’s compatibility ahead of purchasing a Nest thermostat, visit the online Compatibility Checker.
4. Some HVAC systems require a C wire (Common wire), also known as the Nest Power Connector. You can click here to check the details.
Heating And Cooling Systems Compatible With Nest Thermostat
The following types of heating and cooling systems are compatible with a Nest thermostat. Nevertheless, we would still urge you to go through the online compatibility checker to check whether your system is or isn’t.
1. Heat only, cool only, or heat pump systems.
2. Natural gas, oil, or electricity-powered systems.
3. Single-stage heating and cooling systems.
4. Single-stage heating with two-stage cooling systems.
5. Two-stage heating and one-stage cooling systems.
6. Single-stage heat pumps with or without auxiliary heating.
7. Single-speed fan systems.
8. Single-stage heat pump having separate single-stage furnace heating.
9. Single-stage heat pump having distinct two-stage furnace heating.
10. Two-stage heat pump with or without auxiliary heating. Two-stage heat pump having separate two-stage furnace heating.
11. Heating and cooling system with Humidifier or dehumidifier.
12. Dual transformer systems.
13. Two stages of cooling and two or three-stage furnace heating systems.
14. Two or three-speed fan.
15. PTAC (Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner) systems.
Heating And Cooling Systems Incompatible With Nest Thermostat
Most 24 v HVAC systems are compatible with Nest thermostats, but there are a few exceptions. If you own one of the following systems, then buying a Nest thermostat is not a good idea:
1. Proprietary Systems – Proprietary systems are those that integrate exclusively with software and equipment produced by the same company that manufactured the HVAC system. To know whether your system is proprietary, check:
1. If the wires in the thermostat connector have non-standard labels like 1,2,3, or A, B, C. If yes, it is a proprietary system.
2. If your HVAC system has only two wires, and you have both heating and cooling, yours is most probably a proprietary system.
Although proprietary HVAC systems are incompatible with Nest thermostats yet there is a possibility that a pro installer may be able to rewire it to work with one.
2. Millivolt Systems – Typically, a millivolt system is a floor or wall heater that is self-powered by a special thermocouple device. It is also known as a powerpile or thermopile generator, and it produces DC or direct current electricity. Since millivolt systems use way less electricity, they cannot support the power needs of a Nest thermostat and, as such, are incompatible.
3. High Voltage Systems – Examples of High voltage HVAC systems are electric baseboard heating systems or other radiant systems that are powered by electricity. As is evident, these systems use very high voltage, which makes Nest incompatible. But in some cases, it is possible to install a step-down transformer and make even your high voltage heating and cooling system compatible with Nest. To do this, you will need the services of a pro installer.
4. Solid Fuel Systems – Heating and cooling systems that use wood chips, pellets, coal, anthracite, or some other biomass materials are also Nest incompatible.
To Conclude
Modern technology is capable of making life easier. Sadly, it cannot be used with everything and anything. Before purchasing a Nest thermostat, it is always good to check whether the HVAC system you own will even work with it or not. Thanks to the online compatibility checker, homeowners can now do so with ease. Contact your local HVAC contractor if you are not comfortable taking that call or don’t have the time to do it yourself. They can help you figure out the compatibility of your system, and if the need arises and the circumstances permit, even make an incompatible system compatible. The good thing about Nest thermostats is that they work with a wide variety of residential HVAC systems, so there is a very high probability that it will work with even yours. If you want to enjoy the benefits of power-saving without raising a finger, no doubt you need a Nest Smart Thermostat.
