Our doorbells are exposed to the elements and can sometimes take a real beating. From those heavy spring downpours to those sprinkler systems that water your house more than the lawn.
The potential that your doorbell will at some point in its life get a little (or a lot) wet is very high. If you are planning to invest, or have already invested, in a new Nest Hello video doorbell, this might be a concern.
Is the Nest Hello waterproof? The Nest Hello video doorbell is waterproof. It is rated IPX4 meaning it can withstand splashing water, no matter the direction. It can withstand temperatures as low as 5 degrees and as high as 104 degrees.
You can find more about the IPX4 rating here.
Water is not going to be the issue with your Nest Hello. The sun will be. I have yet to experience any issues with my doorbell, but it is also placed in a spot that is never directly in the sun. If you are in an area that I known to see temperatures over 104 degrees, you will need some sort of shade to prevent overheating.
The Nest Hello is widely regarded as one of the top video doorbells out right now. It has an amazing quality picture, easy to use app and just looks really cool.
Let’s look more into some of the potential downfalls of this doorbell and how we can add some extra protection from the elements!
A Quick Look at The Nest Hello
The Nest Hello is not battery powered. It will require a power source, most likely from the wiring of your old doorbell. It will require 16-24 volts AC, which shouldn’t be an issue with your old wiring.
The video quality is one of the highest in the market. There are high, medium and low settings that help with the amount of bandwidth these things eat up.
Just like other video doorbells, you will get push notifications. You can manage the number of notifications you get buy setting up a detection zone, where you only receive motion detection notifications when someone or something is in that zone.
Nest is a Google product so it fits in nicely to the Google ecosystem. It works with Alexa, with a few drawbacks, and is not compatible with Homekit at the moment.
There is a familiar face feature that requires a Nest Aware subscription as well. Check that out here.
Extra Waterproofing the Nest Hello
The Nest Hello is waterproof. It was designed to handle all types of weather. Whether it be snow or rain, it should hold up pretty well. With that being said, there is no reason not to add a little extra protection. These things are not cheap and we want to protect our investment.
Here are a couple ways to add some extra water protection to your Nest Hello:
Silicone protective skin. These durable cases protect the doorbell from rain, hail and snow. It also adds some extra protection from accidental scratches. These do not impede the use of any buttons, speakers or camera lenses and fit like a glove over your doorbell.
Silicone skin with top cover That makes sense, right. This silicone case basically adds a hat to the top of your doorbell for some extra rain protection. This one also comes in a few colors as well: black, brown and white.
If you are in a warmer area, I would be careful with these covers. They could bring the temperature of the device up and contribute to overheating.
Issues With High Temperatures
The Nest Hello has an operating temperature of up to 104 degrees. Once the temperature reaches levels higher than that, you might experience less than optimal performance.
This problem is more severe when you are in a warm region and your doorbell is directly in the sun. I have found a handful of user’s complaining about the Nest Hello shutting off at certain times of the day, usually when the sun is directly on the unit.
This is also a problem for the hottest regions, where even if you are in the shade, the temperature can easily climb over the 104 degrees these things are rated for.
If the Nest Hello temperature gets to high, it will shut down. There is no way around that. But is there anything we can do to keep it from overheating in the first place?
How to Protect it From the Sun
You also have the option of building out your own shade cover for the doorbell as well. If you are handy at all (not me), build out your own custom shade for the doorbell.
These covers also pull double duty. They will protect your doorbell from the sun as well as the rain.
Nests tips for keeping the camera cool
- The camera should be in a well-ventilated space with enough room to breath if you will. The more airflow, the cooler the camera will beIf the camera is in a hidden position, make sure there is still that airflow available. Without that airflow, the chances of overheating go up especially if you are in a warmer climate already.If your doorbell is in a case, make sure it is also ventilated. Even then, overheating is possible. I would be wary of the containers.Stay away from covering the doorbell with cloth, molded silicons skins or other materials. This will just add to the heat the doorbell is subjected to.
You can find Nests entire page on keeping the doorbell cool here.
In Conclusion
The Nest Hello is a great doorbell, a top contender for sure. It is waterproof on its own and can handle all of the elements. Well, unless you are unfortunate enough to experience a flood. Then you might have some issues.
If you are in an area that does not experience extreme heat waves or have a doorbell in a cool shaded place, you can add some extra protection. Above, we talked about silicone cases that are not only functional, but they also look really cool.
The heat is going to be your biggest issue. If you are in an area like Arizona where you routinely experience 105 degree plus weather, the Nest Hello will struggle. When these devices overheat, they tend to turn off completely so they can cool down. Kind of defeats the purpose of a smart doorbell if you ask me.
If your home is in a hotter than the average city and your doorbell is spending some time directly exposed to the sun, you might be better off going with a different brand smart doorbell. You can find our favorite smart video doorbells here for some inspiration.
