Apple Stores to Sell Nest Thermostat

[snebes]

Originally Posted by drober30

I'm going to pick one up at Lowes because if I use my Lowes card I get 5% off purchases. That applies to everyone with a Lowes card. Savings of $16 after tax!

1. Find a harbor freight coupon for 20% off any single item.
2. Buy Lowes gift cards from Michaels for $40 per $50 card. (only this week)
3. Buy Nest from Lowes at about 25% off using #1 and #2. I just got one for $175 after tax.

I love mine (actually already have one). Its great to be able to know how things are running. I don't like "black box"-like devices, especially when the are directly linked to my bills. I guess I am a bit of a control freak, and the nest feeds into my needs

[Angelo921]

Can I buy the Nest thermostat using my iTunes gift card?

[sesnir]

I called my local Apple Store and they claim that they no longer carry them. He suggested Lowes, but said to call them first because there's a lawsuit against Nest.

Sure enough, Lowes does not carry them either. That's odd with Amazon and the Apple Online Store both carrying it...

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by sesnir

I called my local Apple Store and they claim that they no longer carry them. He suggested Lowes, but said to call them first because there's a lawsuit against Nest.

Sure enough, Lowes does not carry them either. That's odd with Amazon and the Apple Online Store both carrying it...

I don't think that it's ever been claimed that they've ever been carried at local Apple stores, so I expect whoever you talked to was simply confused.

Lowes carries them online. Best Buy no longer carries them and I wonder if that has something to do with both Best Buy and Nest getting sued by Honeywell.

[pubwvj]

Originally Posted by sweetbrat

Great for you. But most of us live in more typical housing and thus need a thermostat of one kind or another.

We already have a programmable thermostat, but still thinking about getting the Nest. Being able to control it from afar would be great

Perhaps rather than improving the thermostat what people need to really do is improve the house. If you don't insulate better, shade, cut drafts, bulk up on the thermal mass then you're still going to be wasting a lot of energy heating and cooling. The Nest is a fancy tech solution that is fun to play with but isn't solving real problems.

It is sad that when there are real solutions it is the conventional and the gadgetry that is getting built.

[Vege-Taco]

Originally Posted by pubwvj

Perhaps rather than improving the thermostat what people need to really do is improve the house. If you don't insulate better, shade, cut drafts, bulk up on the thermal mass then you're still going to be wasting a lot of energy heating and cooling. The Nest is a fancy tech solution that is fun to play with but isn't solving real problems.

It is sad that when there are real solutions it is the conventional and the gadgetry that is getting built.

So are you saying that nobody has invented window shades, insulation, caulking, etc? I thought that stuff had been around for decades. Why not address the thermostat that has been neglected for decades? You're not making any sense.

I was out of town last week and noticed that my house cleaner had left the ACs set to 75 degrees. It has been 110-113 degrees outside lately. It was very nice to be able to turn up the thermostats remotely and save quite a few $$$ in the process.

[jmpage2]

Exactly, I think that Walter rather misses the point entirely. The home thermostat typically is responsible for 50% of the entire energy usage in the home, and for the vast majority of home owners, they "set it and forget it" which wastes lots of energy (and money).

The Nest is a $250 solution to this problem and gives users some features which either have not existed previously (airwave, auto-away) or have not been available in a product this affordable (internet access control, etc).

The Nest is a game changer. There's nothing to stop someone from spending thousands of dollars improving their homes energy usage by doing the things that Walter mentions, but the Nest costs $250, takes 20 minutes to put in, and the energy savings often start happening more or less immediately.

I have a friend who is originally from Hawaii (as is his wife). They enjoy having their home very warm in the winter time (like 78 degrees). Prior to the Nest they just cranked the heat up all the time and wound up with a very expensive heating bill for natural gas at the end of the month. After installing the Nest and letting the auto away features, etc, run, the energy savings for them were rather dramatic. They will likely recoup the Nest cost in under 1 year.

[sweetbrat]

Originally Posted by pubwvj

Perhaps rather than improving the thermostat what people need to really do is improve the house. If you don't insulate better, shade, cut drafts, bulk up on the thermal mass then you're still going to be wasting a lot of energy heating and cooling. The Nest is a fancy tech solution that is fun to play with but isn't solving real problems.

It is sad that when there are real solutions it is the conventional and the gadgetry that is getting built.

Let's be honest here...from looking at your website, you're in a very different position than the vast majority of people out there. What I'm saying is that I can't rebuild my house to make it more energy friendly. Yes, some people need to make simple improvements to cut down on energy usage. However, I have added insulation; the house is shaded, caulked, etc. That doesn't negate the need for a thermostat. I live in Michigan. We have 90+ degree summers and several single digit days in the winter. There's no way for a conventionally built house to not need a thermostat in those conditions, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to get one with some useful technology.

[sesnir]

Originally Posted by jmpage2

I don't think that it's ever been claimed that they've ever been carried at local Apple stores, so I expect whoever you talked to was simply confused.

Of course it's been claimed -

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/30/n...g-apple-store/

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/25/...st-thermostat/

... which is page 1 of this thread, the original Macrumors story...

As an update, I like my Nest a lot. I had to turn off auto-away because it would kick in when I was still sleeping and let the temperature get too high.

I have gotten in the habit of manually setting away mode when I disappear for the day though.

Hopefully they won't get shut down via lawsuits.

[tbarney]

Originally Posted by sesnir

I called my local Apple Store and they claim that they no longer carry them. He suggested Lowes, but said to call them first because there's a lawsuit against Nest.

Sure enough, Lowes does not carry them either. That's odd with Amazon and the Apple Online Store both carrying it...

I just bought one from Lowes.com last week. Delivered in two days. Works fantastic.

[StyxMaker]

Originally Posted by burne

I'd like to buy one but I think adapting it to my natural gas furnace and AWWO-system will be a bitch.

(All Windows Will Open, it's what I use for cooling on a hot day..)

Perhaps Nest is a little too advanced for this fossil in a cave..

I share your situation. My cooling comes from huge trees in my west facing backyard. The shade 95% of my property and about 90% of my house from the afternoon sun. Most of my windows open onto this shaded back yard, and my 'whole house' fan pulls cooler are from the backyard through the house and exhausts it through the attic crawl space. My backyard and house stay 10 to 15 degrees below what's reported by the nearest weather station. Ceiling fans in every room also help.

Being able to leave my AC off most days saves even more money than a fancy, remote controlled, thermostat. No matter how fancy, the thermostat cannot keep your backyard cool like nice huge trees can.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by StyxMaker

I share your situation. My cooling comes from huge trees in my west facing backyard. The shade 95% of my property and about 90% of my house from the afternoon sun. Most of my windows open onto this shaded back yard, and my 'whole house' fan pulls cooler are from the backyard through the house and exhausts it through the attic crawl space. My backyard and house stay 10 to 15 degrees below what's reported by the nearest weather station. Ceiling fans in every room also help.

Being able to leave my AC off most days saves even more money than a fancy, remote controlled, thermostat. No matter how fancy, the thermostat cannot keep your backyard cool like nice huge trees can.

Yeah but your deodorant costs probably equal the cost of a NEST. Seriously, why did you post this dribble?

I can tell you for a fact my Nest has saved me money and my furnace runs better with it.

[BumpMan]

Originally Posted by Zaqfalcon

Really? Who cares about the timing of the heating in their home enough to buy this?

Sure it might be handy the once in a blue moon I forget to turn off the heating when I've already left the house to go on holiday, but $250 worth?

$30 maybe and even then I'd only consider buying it because I'm already sailing down the motorway with the cases in the boot and a dim and distant memory is sparked in my mind upon the realisation that my TV will have a warm and comfy fortnight.

In fact I'm surprised I care enough to write this post. Someone please enlighten me why I should pay any regard to this product.

Its a luxury product that looks great and works great, its not for people like you.

[Angelo921]

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