Nest Doorbell Review uk

I purchased the nest hello doorbell on launch day and received it two weeks later. I installed it into my own home the day I got my hands on it, so I have lived with it through its initial teething problems and uncertainties, but I'm glad to say that that's all behind the nest hello now.

first things to mention is that any home can have the nest hello, you don't actually need an existing chime like nest say, they are now supporting chimeless installations, you don't even need to have a google home assistant speaker, but I highly recommend that you do, as you get visiter announcements which are so cool, especially when you have familiar faces on.

so there is a lot of confusion over compatible chimes and power supplies and transformers, what you need to realise is that in the UK we traditionally use 8v ac to power a doorbell circuit. and most transformers will be either 8 to 12vac. this isn't a problem as you can just exchange the existing transformer, this may be built into the existing chime itself or be located in your consumer unit. the nest hello actually requires between 16 and 24vac at a minimum of 8 volt-ampere (VA), its actually ok to go over on the VA, just don't go under. if your power supply doesn't state the VA, don't panic, it's just the amps x volts = VA (0.5a x 18vac = 9VA)

I've found the easiest way to install the nest hello is via a 3 pin plug power supply, which can be picked up from Amazon or eBay for around £10 to £20. then get yourself a google home mini for around £40, wire up using the chime connector and away you go, it is a must that you use the chime connector that is supplied with the nest hello, even if you're not using a chime, as the circuit is designed to short circuit when the button is pressed, the chime connector has resistors inside to help protect the nest hello doorbell.

it's actually very easy to connect a wireless chime to this type of installation, I use a Voxon or Honeywell chime depending on budget. you just need to connect the chime connector to a relay, which you can purchase for anything between £5 and £25. then off the relay, you wire the chime sender unit (push button) and that's it.

the doorbell itself is wired, the only downside, so you will need to either utilise the existing wires or run new ones, you only have to use bell wire, but this can still be a pain and not nice to look at.

setting up the doorbell is easy, it works simply and even a child can navigate the settings etc.

you may require a subscription like I have, if you want nest aware and get the face recognition feature and cloud storage. I went with the 10-day plan, but on reflection, I wish I opted for the 5-day plan.

overall I'm very happy with my own personal nest hello, also all my customers are very happy with the end result.