How to Set Air Filter Reminders on a Google Nest Thermostat

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Your furnace and air conditioner don’t require too much maintenance, but there are some simple things you can do to make your home more comfortable and extend the life of your equipment. It’s recommended that you change out the air filter every couple of months. You may need to change it more or less depending on your usage and household. For example, if you keep your home cool and your furnace runs less often, you can change the filter less often, but if you have shaggy pets, you may want to change it more often. This is not at the top of anyone's priority list, but your Nest thermostat has the ability to monitor the time your furnace runs and remind you when it's time to change the filter. It's not difficult to set this up, but not necessarily intuitive so we'll help you in this post.

Here's a pro tip: Buy the cheap filters in bulk packs. Your furnace needs good air flow to prolong life of the blower motor and efficiently heat/cool the air. The expensive filters restrict airflow and aren't good for anything except draining your wallet. Resist the temptation to spend more, the cheap filters catch all the dirt and debris that they need to!

Setting air filter reminders from the Nest app

1. Start by opening the Nest app on your smart phone. You should be on the Home Screen:

Google Nest Home Screen

2. Select your Nest Thermostat:

Select Nest Thermostat

3. Tap on the settings icon in the top right corner:

Nest settings location

4. Scroll down and select “Equipment”:

Nest select equipment

5. Select “Air filter reminder”:

Nest air filter reminder

6. Tap on the toggle switch for “Air filter reminder” to turn on the feature. It will change from gray to blue:

Nest air filter toggle

7. Now, select “Last changed”:

Nest last changed

8. Select when the air filter was last changed. If you’re not sure, go ahead and change the air filter now and then select “This month”:

Nest last changed month

Setting air filter reminders from the Nest thermostat itself

1. Push on the unit to open the main menu and navigate to “Settings”:

Nest Settings

2. Scroll to “Reminders” and select it:

Nest Reminders

3. Push to continue:

Nest set reminder

4. Select “Remind Me”:

Nest remind me

5. Select the month when you last changed your air filter:

Nest select month

6. That’s it! You’ll be taken back to the settings and “Air filter” will appear under “Reminders” now instead of “None”

Nest reminders air filter

From now on you’ll receive reminders when it’s time to change out the air filter in your HVAC system. The Nest thermostat monitors how long the blower motor runs and will remind you to change the filter every 1000 hours of usage. This is far better than reminding you at set intervals of time as your usage may be more or less depending on weather and the temperature you like to keep your home set at.

Conclusion

Despite David having a first generation Nest in his home for nearly 10 years, we don’t recommend the Nest thermostat due to reliability issues. They are insanely popular, however, so we thought we’d put this post together to help users take advantage of this feature that isn’t so easy to find. Some users have had difficulty with the Nest reminding them to change the air filter, saying that it’s been several months since getting a reminder. And if your Nest crashes, don’t be surprised if the counter resets itself.

Tech to My Door thoroughly tests the equipment that we install and we have smart thermostat options that are far superior to the Nest. If you are experiencing difficulty with your Nest and are interested in a consultation to replace it with a reliable device that comes with our famous one year “No Worries” guarantee, visit our Schedule Online page and book an appointment!

Posted in Nest.