Nest for your nest

           The Nest Thermostat is one of the easiest Thermostats you could ever install, with Honeywells Wifi thermostat coming in at a strong second.

The installation process is simple, it starts out with shutting off power at the circuit breaker.  Now I know there are those who choose to skip this step for one reason or another but just do yourself a favor and always shut off power when working with any electricity.

In addition to saving yourself from potential problems its an excellent habit to have.

With power off, the next step thing was to separate the face of the existing thermostat from its base, this could be done in one of two ways; either prying it off with a small screwdriver or lifting the bottom end up. The most effective is the screwdriver method.

If you don't have a small trim screwdriver not to worry, Nest provides one with every one of their thermostats.

Once the existing t-stat face was off I photographed the wiring layout so I could wire it correctly to the Nest base. Another option is to label each wire individually as they're removed them from the existing base. If you decide to label Nest provides a set of labeling tabs in the box.

After photographing, I disconnected the wires and then removed the base itself.

With the old t-stat now completely out of the way it was time to install the Nest. I had two options for mounting this device, I could use the rectangular back cover that came with the kit or, I could mount  the round base for a more minimalist look.

In most cases the round base by itself is much more appealing but there are times when the rectangular accessory is necessary. For instance, if the opening where the wire passed through was larger, or if the walls weren't near a stud, then the rectangular piece would make perfect sense.

Using the affixed level on the round base, I leveled and secured the whole piece to the wall, then one by one, I wired each lead to its corresponding place using the photo I took earlier.

Once that was done I  lined up the t-stat to the base and snapped the device into place.

With the power back on, I had the homeowner run through the programming part of the install so they could tie the device into their homes network. Minutes later the device was tested manually and remotely and the new thermostat worked perfectly.

The ease and simplicity of installing the Nest and similar thermostats is important for the average person because it virtually eliminates the need of having the device professionally installed. In this instance it was necessary because we had to move the device to a different location, before installing the Nest.

I hope you've enjoyed this article, and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to share your experience feel free to do so in the section below. Until next time, stay safe.