Learn more about thermostat mid plates

Some thermostats are designed with a mid plate underneath the cover. This mid plate can hide some of your thermostat’s wiring and make it difficult to tell if you’re compatible with the Google Nest Thermostat.

Removing your thermostat’s cover Important: Turn off the power before exposing any wiring or attempting to make any adjustments to your thermostat to help keep you safe and help prevent damage to your thermostat and your system. Most 24V thermostats have a cover that is easily removed. After your thermostat cover is removed, you should see your thermostat’s base. The wires that run from your heating and cooling system attach to the base of your thermostat, and your thermostat’s base is often screwed to the wall.

 

If you see wiring labels After you remove the cover of your thermostat you might see wires attached to your thermostat base. If you see labels on these terminals like R, G, Y, or W you can use these labels to check if you’re compatible  with the Nest Thermostat. Tip: If you see more than one label for each wire, find out which label you should use.

 

If you don’t see wiring labels If you remove the cover and you don’t see any wire labels, your thermostat might have a mid plate. Mid plates are screwed to your thermostat’s base or attached directly to the wall and can hide your wire labels. You’ll need to remove the screws and look on the other side of your mid plate to see your thermostat’s wire labels. Once you find the labels you can use our compatibility tool to check if you’re compatible with the Nest Thermostat.