A while ago I made a quick video about the Nest Hello doorbell from Google, criticising
the fact that it was aimed solely at consumers who already had a wired doorbell at their
front door because if you don’t have a wired doorbell, then the officially recommended
route from Google is to pay for a pricey Pro installation. In the video, I said that they
should either include an appropriate transformer in the box, or sell an official one separately.
The video certainly divided opinion with lots of... lively discussion in the comments and
I think it’s fair to say quite a few people missed the point I was making - yes, if you
know what you’re doing (like I and many others do) it’s easy to wire up the right
transformer but if you’re not confident with electronics then your only other option
is to buy a 3rd party transformer from an unknown supplier and it’s quite reasonable
(I think) to be cautious about that especially on a gadget that’s certainly not cheap.
And that was my point - why not just make it easier for the average consumer to make
use of this product via official routes without having to pay for expensive professional installation?
Since I made that video, Google have actually started selling a certified 3rd party power
adapter for it in the USA, but there’s still no such official accessory in the UK. So in
this video, which is specifically aimed at the UK and Ireland but will be relevant to
many people around the world I’m sure, I’ll be showing you TWO things. Firstly, which
transformer to buy and how to wire it up, and then how I fitted my Nest Hello doorbell
to my uPVC door frame with the cable running through the inside of the frame itself, hiding
all wires from sight for a really nice, neat job.
Follow the steps in this video entirely at your own risk and only if you are experienced,
knowledgeable and proficient in the relevant trades. If you are in any doubt, consult a
certified professional. This video is provided for information and entertainment purposes
only and no responsibility can be taken for any damage, injury or warranty issues.
So my recommendation would be to purchase a generic Bell transformer like this one from
Screwfix which costs under £9. The Hello requires a transformer which will provide
between 12 and 24V of AC at 8VA of power, so this one is ideal.
The transformer is a very simple device which has two non-polarised inputs for the positive
and negative from your mains supply, and 4 outputs; 1 for ground and then a choice of
8, 12 or 24V as the outputs. The Nest Hello will happily run at either 12 or 24V, but
if we choose to run it at the higher of those two voltages, 24V, then it won’t need to
draw as much current so the choice of Bell cable will be less important.
So, to test it out and make sure it all worked I took an old power cable from my box of spares
- a 2 core cable is all that’s needed, as there’s no earth connection going into the
transformer. If they’re not already exposed, use a wire stripper to strip and twist a short
length from each core and then do the same with a length of bell cable on each end.
You can pop these little included cable clips onto the cable if you like, although they’re
not required, then we’ll connect the mains cable into the bottom of the transformer,
making sure the wires are in fully with no exposed copper visible, and connect the bell
wire into the top of the transformer at the 0 and 24V contacts.
Then it’s just a case of connecting the other end of the bell wire to the device itself.
Again, the connections aren’t polarised so it makes no difference which you connect
to which.
With that done, we can connect to the mains power and the Nest Hello boots up just fine.
You can then skip through most of the setup process in the Nest app after you’ve scanned
the QR code on the back, as it guides you through integrating into an existing hard-wired
setup with a chime. But if there’s no chime, then there’s nothing to setup and it’s
just a very simple wiring like you see here.
Now if you go down the proper Bell transformer route, then you’ll want to mount that transformer
somewhere properly, especially as the connections going into it are live so little (and big!)
fingers need to stay away. Depending on the location of your fusebox you might be able
to mount it in there and feed straight from the mains, or if like me your consumer unit
is miles away from the front door anyway, a little 1-2 way transformer enclosure like
this is a great option as it can be securely wall mounted and kept out of the way and out
of sight. Inside it has a short rail just big enough for the one transformer and the
top screws in place keeping everything secure. Punch-out holes at the top and bottom allow
you to thread the cables in and out of it and I mounted mine high up in the corner of
the porch, and the black cable you see there was swapped out for a while cable which blends
first hole through the plastic. I then tried to thread a cable in and up... and to my disappointment
but no surprise, confirmed that it was in a different internal chamber than the bits
at the other side. So, it was time to switch to a metal drill bit and cross my fingers
before continuing to tunnel through my door frame. In the end, I had to go through not
1 but 2 metal sections but after I’d done that I was able to poke the hook in and up
and it appeared inside the chamber behind the Door Keep!
So, now that I had the hook poked all the way from the outside side, up and into the
chamber inside the frame I was able to hook it over the cable and secure in place with
some electrical tape, then I pulled it through to the outside. So the cable now runs in behind
where the doorbell will go, through the two holes in the metal structure, up the inside
and comes out right at the top on the inside. I sliced through the sealant (which can be
easily resealed afterwards) with a Stanley knife so that I could drill another little
hole to tuck the cable through ready to run back along the top of the wall to the transformer.
Then all that’s left to do is connect up the doorbell, and we’re done!
So there we have it, a Nest Hello smart wireless video doorbell connected to a UK home with
no previous hard-wired connection or chime, and fitted to a UPVC front door running the
cables internally inside the door frame to look as neat as possible.