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I'm replacing an old thermostat that is behind a door to our dining room, that is usually kept open, hiding the thermostat.

Given that the wires come from above and I have some flexibility as to where the new Nest thermostat can be installed, where should I install it?

My choices are, in order of ease:

  • Right outside the door, in the hallway leading to the dining room and shared with the family room, (keep in mind that the hallway, family and dining rooms are controlled by the same thermostat and the air intake is in the dining room and the air vents are in the family room so air has to make it from the family room to the dining room past the thermostat)
  • Inside the entrance of the family room, facing a wall, but the Nest would see us entering the family room
  • Centrally in the family room, facing the room, where we spend most time
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I've got a Nest and I'll explain how it's poorly placed for our house. Maybe it can provide some guidance on how to proceed... It's right next to the kitchen in our dining room, so there's a lot of heat from the kitchen that affects how well the thermostat performs. If we roast some delicious animal on a cold day, the heat from the kitchen prevents the nest from heating the rest of the house. This prevents the bedrooms from warming up enough to be comfortable in the evening. It's on my list to move our Nest further from the kitchen to help with this. – SredniV Jan 27 at 0:46
In my discussions with many friends, it seems like we could all benefit more by a redesign of our venting and ductwork, rather than a simple thermostat replacement. – mahboudz Jan 27 at 9:38

1 Answer

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For a regular thermostat, you want to place it where it can accurately measure the temperature of the area you use the most. With the Nest, you have the additional functionality of the motion detector which allows Nest to reduce your heat when no one is home.

Thus, your last option, centrally in the family room, sounds best to me.

The second option is not clear with regard to the view of people using the family room. If that location only sees people entering the family room but not in the family room, that makes it hard for Nest to know there are people home if they go to the family room and stay there a long time.

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