Connect Nest to Alexa for the Smart Home of the Future
What is Nest?
Nest, now known as Google Nest, is a company that makes smart home products that are easy (and fun!) to control via voice assistants like Alexa — plus, it’s surprisingly simple to connect Nest to Alexa. Usually when people talk about Nest, they’re referring to their Nest Thermostat, a smart home thermostat that can automatically calibrate based on your behavior and save you energy costs.
But Google Nest makes more than just thermostats. They also produce smart cameras, smart doorbells, an Alarm System, door lock, and Smoke + CO alarms. While we won’t get into the details about why these products are great, it’s worth researching further to understand all of the benefits these devices can bring, including lifesaving Smoke and CO alerts if something goes awry in your home.
And if you’re here, you’re probably wondering: “But if Nest is a Google product, can it really integrate with Alexa?”
The answer is yes!
Why should you connect Nest to Alexa?
Like most smart home devices that pair with Alexa, one of the biggest benefits when you connect Nest to Alexa is being able to control each device with voice commands and via easy-to-set-up Alexa routines.
In our thermostat example, when you connect Nest to Alexa, you’ll be able to ask Alexa to turn the temperature up or down or switch between heating and cooling mode. Plus, with Alexa routines, you’ll be able to automatically have the temperature change late in the evening every night when you go to sleep (perhaps turning down the heat to conserve energy) and then again in the morning (no one likes to get out of a warm bed and emerge into a freezing cold room!).
What types of Nest products work with Alexa?
It’s important to keep in mind that not all Nest products work with Alexa. While Nest does produce door locks, alarm systems, and smoke + CO alarms, only their thermostats, cameras and doorbells are Alexa compatible.
One of the major benefits of integrating a Nest Camera or Nest Doorbell is being able to view the video feed, and in order to make use of this, you’ll need an Alexa Echo Show device.
How do you connect Nest to Alexa?
Set-up is similar across Nest products, but first, you’ll need to enable the Google Nest Alexa Skill. Tap/click here and then tap/click “Enable.”
Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to set up your Nest device. Here’s how:
- Open up your Alexa app
- Select “Devices” on the bottom navigation bar
- Click the + sign in the upper right corner
- Tap/click “Add Device”
- Select either Thermostat or Camera depending which device you’d like to set up
- Select “Google Nest”
- Tap/click “Continue”
- Enable the Google Nest Skill (if you haven’t already) and follow the on-screen instructions to complete set-up
How do you control Nest with Alexa?
If you’ve just set up a thermostat, you can say “Alexa, what temperature is the thermostat set to?” or “Alexa, set the temperature to 69 degrees.” You can also easily set Alexa routines to automatically change the temperature at a certain time every day or when you leave work to come home.
If you set up a camera and have an Echo Show, you can say “Alexa, show me the back yard.” If you set up a doorbell and have an Echo Show, you can say “Alexa, show me the front door.”
VoiceBrew: Get more out of your Alexa Device with tips delivered straight to your inbox
VoiceBrew was created to help people get more out of their Amazon Alexa devices. Whether you’re just setting up your first Alexa device, or are a seasoned pro looking for advanced tips, VoiceBrew can help.
I love Alexa but realized that most people weren’t familiar with all of the capabilities available in every device! With VoiceBrew, you’ll have access to comprehensive how-to guides that cover basic set-up all the way to more advanced routines.
Wondering what devices work with Alexa? I cover that, too in VoiceBrew Alexa smart home guides. Ready to get started? Sign up for the VoiceBrew newsletter today.