Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Nest Thermostat Now Available in Apple Retail Stores
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That's pretty much what this does - but it provides all of the advantages of a finely-programmed programmable with the ease of an old dial.
The other thing it does is it learns how long it takes your particular house to heat or cool between different settings. It then starts to adjust the 'on' time such that it is actually at the temperature you set when you set it. It even takes into account the external temperature in determining how long this will take.
----------
It will, but before you run out and get one, look into what the real recommendations are for your system. For modern efficient radiant systems, and especially high-mass systems like concrete slab, the benefits of setting your thermostat back may be negligible to none. You might be better off setting a temperature and leaving it.
No, that's normal. It has sensors and stuff below the line. I don't recall the line being quite THAT noticeable on mine. I mean, you see it, but I've never had anyone think it was a crack or anything.
By and large, it's not much different than a properly programmed programmable thermostat. In practice, there are some differences.
First, this is obviously a premium product, and you are paying for that. That's ok - if you have a well decorated house and the thermostat is prominent, that matters to some.
Mostly though, this is intended to be as user-friendly as possible. This starts with the installation - which they go to great lengths to make this do it yourself for the vast majority of people. As compared to the instructions for a regular thermostat, this is a huge improvement. Second, it is not a programmable thermostat in the traditional sense (although it can be used that way) - it is a learning thermostat. After you install it, you set your temperatures as normal for a couple of days. From that it learns your basic schedule. It has a proximity sensor so it knows if you are home, and adjusts accordingly. It learns your habits, and continues to adjust over time.
It's of course wi-fi connected, which allows you to interact with it from anywhere - which also greatly aids any configuration you want to do so. You can set your thermostat back when you go away for a few days (or it will automatically), and turn it on remotely on your way home. It shows how much time you system is running every day to help you monitor energy usage.
Finally, perhaps the biggest thing is that it offers all of that complexity in a device that is in general, as simple to use as any old-style dial thermostat. Turn the dial and set the temperature and you will get most of the benefit of the thermostat without doing anything else.
That answer the question?
I'll add to that, as I was one of the original owners of the Nest when it was introduced. I bought it because it had two things that I wanted for years in a programmable thermostat, and could not understand why nobody had tried to make it before: First, ease of use. Second, a display that can be easily read in a dark hallway or room (seems minor, but it's been a pet peeve of mine on every thermostat I've owned for 25 years.) Most programmable thermostats are either stupid, difficult to navigate through and program, or both. Nest not only make programming extremely easy, either at the thermostat itself, on your iOS device or on your internet connected computer, but it also learns from your habits.
So, you hook up your Nest, then spend a few days adjusting the temps to what's comfortable to you. Let's say you wake up at 6, and turn the thermostat up from 65 to 70 while you're making coffee. Do this for about three or four days, and Nest learns your habits, and adjust itself to automatically turn itself up at 6. But that's not all. On Saturdays and Sundays you don't get up until 7:30. A few days of that, and Nest will know not to turn itself up on weekends until the later time. Then, if your schedule changes Nest will adjust. So if you start getting up at 5 on weekdays, Nest will learn from that, and change it's schedule on its own.
Nest also keeps track of the weather in your area, and adjusts itself constantly to maximize efficiency based on that weather.
I've looked at the "competition" and there frankly isn't any. I would assume that anyone who is on this site uses Apple products, and does so because they realize that great products are worth a little more money. Nest is a great product, and is worth every dime.
Depends on the specifics - Nest addresses these questions in detail on their site, so it's worth looking at. You can also over-ride its learning capabilities if necessary.
True. There's cheaper versions.I have a programmable thermostat which can be programmed for 4 different settings each day. I don't remember exactly what I paid for it, but I know it was less than $100 including installation by an HVAC professional...so if I could do it myself, it would have been less.
Serious question...what is the advantage of the NEST (aside from looking extremely cool
In my house, the NEST sits about 5ft high on the wall. It lights up whenever someone walks in front of it. It's never lighted up when either of the three dogs have run in front of it.
But yeah, depending on how you have it mounted, a pet theoretically could be detected. Then the "auto away" feature would not be of much use to you.
There's still a few other ways that I think a Nest can be more efficient than a regular thermostat, so I wouldn't personally say it's "not efficient" just because "auto away" doesn't work in your house.
yeah, I note that mine lights up if I walk by say in the middle of the night, but during the day when it sees a lot of traffic, I have to put my hand in front of it to light up, so it obviously varies the sensitivity. I've never seen our 60lb dog trigger it.
Apparently the 2nd gen. has been redesigned to work much better with radiant in floor heat systems which is what we have. Unfortunately we also have 5 zones and 5 stats. I bought some $40 Honeywells that are not programmable 3 years ago and last week bought 2 Nest Units (5% off with Lowe's card at Lowe's), but I have yet to install them. I expect to see some good savings and I think they will pay for themselves by the end of next winter (2 seasons).
I do not live somewhere cold where heating is always necessary. I live in Florida (Central FL at that) where cooling is a part of life. As soon as I bought a house I installed the Nest and since then it has easily paid for itself and is currently making me money.
Auto away is brilliant and Airwave is great too, but its the smart sense of the Nest that reminds me so much of my first iPhone and I was like damn why didnt someone think of this before. It looks great but it functions even better. Energy reports, daily usage details, smartphone, ipad or web control is awesome. Like many other have said I also have a stupid reason for having it and that is if I am too lazy, cold (in bed), or just showing off I can change the temp from my iPhone. Its stupid easy to use, install, and understand. I highly recommend the Nest
Auto away is brilliant and Airwave is great too, but its the smart sense of the Nest that reminds me so much of my first iPhone and I was like damn why didnt someone think of this before. It looks great but it functions even better. Energy reports, daily usage details, smartphone, ipad or web control is awesome. Like many other have said I also have a stupid reason for having it and that is if I am too lazy, cold (in bed), or just showing off I can change the temp from my iPhone. Its stupid easy to use, install, and understand. I highly recommend the Nest
AC Relay
I wish they would integrate with a 240 VAC relay that could control my AC unit this is plugged into an outlet.
I wish they would integrate with a 240 VAC relay that could control my AC unit this is plugged into an outlet.
I think the Nest is great. There's a lot of times when I get stuck working late. With a traditional thermostat, the heat is going to kick on at 5pm, whether I'm there or not. Why heat the house if I'm not there? With the Nest, I can log in to the website or use my iPhone app and tell it that I'm away, and the heat stays off. It might not seem like much, but an extra two or three hours a week without the furnace on makes a big difference.
The Auto-Away feature works great, too. A lot of people, especially with programmable thermostats, forget to turn the heat down if they leave the house off their usual schedule. So, you're wasting energy. The Nest detects when there hasn't been any movement for a while, and it goes into Auto-Away mode so that heat or A/C isn't being used needlessly. Of course, it's still better if you remember to set it to Away before you leave the house, but having Auto-Away kick in after a while is a nice back-up to help save money. I don't have a big dog, but our cats jumping around in front of it have never caused a problem with Auto-Away.
Like someone else also mentioned, if you're particularly cold one night, it's nice to be able to adjust it from bed using your phone, rather than getting up in the cold and going to the thermostat, which might be on the other side of the house. It may be a little thing, but to me, it's worth it.
The Auto-Away feature works great, too. A lot of people, especially with programmable thermostats, forget to turn the heat down if they leave the house off their usual schedule. So, you're wasting energy. The Nest detects when there hasn't been any movement for a while, and it goes into Auto-Away mode so that heat or A/C isn't being used needlessly. Of course, it's still better if you remember to set it to Away before you leave the house, but having Auto-Away kick in after a while is a nice back-up to help save money. I don't have a big dog, but our cats jumping around in front of it have never caused a problem with Auto-Away.
Like someone else also mentioned, if you're particularly cold one night, it's nice to be able to adjust it from bed using your phone, rather than getting up in the cold and going to the thermostat, which might be on the other side of the house. It may be a little thing, but to me, it's worth it.
This is my only concern, as our home is 4,000+ sq ft, utilizing one thermostat with proximity sensors to determine "Away" time may not be efficient (especially as it's in the media room). However, the rep I spoke with this morning said zone's can be created with more than one "Nest", however that reaches into the $500+ range.
On another note, I am excited they took consumer inquiries into account for this revision. Our new "Trane" HVAC system with an 18 SEER and two stage heating and cooling wasn't supported in ver 1.0, now 2.0 has support for 2 and 3 stage cooling, heating and even humidifier and dehumidifier support. Great news.
Another Thermostat
I was thinking about purchasing The Nest so I read some of the blog postings. It seems that it uses an internal battery which would have to be replaced by the manufacturer every 5 to 7 years. Also, during the times inactivity of the heat and AC, the thermostat tries to cycle the heat to charge it's battery. I read several complaints about both. I've been using Honeywell programable thermostats in my home which work just fine. The latest model (RTH8580WF) now uses WiFi for programming and control. It gets it's power from the furnace, not a battery. Home Depot has them for $149.00 but you can get them on ebay for around $125.00 or so. I picked one up and it works great. The App opens fast and allows me to view and adjust my house temperature. Programming has to be done on a computer or the thermostat itself. Very easy. It even sends email alerts if temps go over or under your presets.
Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents in case anyone was looking to buy a new thermostat.
I was thinking about purchasing The Nest so I read some of the blog postings. It seems that it uses an internal battery which would have to be replaced by the manufacturer every 5 to 7 years. Also, during the times inactivity of the heat and AC, the thermostat tries to cycle the heat to charge it's battery. I read several complaints about both. I've been using Honeywell programable thermostats in my home which work just fine. The latest model (RTH8580WF) now uses WiFi for programming and control. It gets it's power from the furnace, not a battery. Home Depot has them for $149.00 but you can get them on ebay for around $125.00 or so. I picked one up and it works great. The App opens fast and allows me to view and adjust my house temperature. Programming has to be done on a computer or the thermostat itself. Very easy. It even sends email alerts if temps go over or under your presets.
Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents in case anyone was looking to buy a new thermostat.
I have wanted a Nest thermostat ever since they came out, simply because no other thermostat offers the features that this one does. Unfortunately, Nest knows that, and that's why they're $250. I can't justify spending that much money on a thermostat, especially when I would need 2 for my house.
If they were $99, or even $149 I would do it.
If they were $99, or even $149 I would do it.
Nest quotes 7-10 years as potential replacement times, with a 5 year warranty. Most thermostat wiring is live even if the furnace is not running, so I'm not sure what you're going on about there.
It has a feature specifially for radiant systems. It will learn how long it takes for the system to reach the desired temp and develope a propper lag time. And it also will shut it off ahead of time so it does not go over that temp.
http://support.nest.com/article/What-is-True-Radiant
Last edited:
Serious question...what is the advantage of the NEST (aside from looking extremely cool
I've never used one but just bought one for my parents' beach house as an Xmas gift. This will give them the ability to remotely monitor and control the temp from their other house, which is more than a 2 hour drive away. They check on the beach house about once a month during the winter and have to crank up the heat when they get there (usually around 50 degrees when the house is unoccupied.) Now they will be able to crank up the heat before they get there.
You know, if you only spent 10 minutes reading about the thermometer, you could save yourself the trouble of writing such an embarrassing clueless post. You don't know a thing about it, and you write junk like this. I know this is asking a lot, but do ten minutes of reading before opening your mouth.
