NEST Thermostat your thoughts appreciated

[Outie4000S]

Hi, I was thinking to buy one of these suckers, I'm wondering if its as amazing as it looks or is it all show.?

If you have one I'd like your feed back, likes dislikes.

Thanks

[95EG6P]

i was thinking about the getting the nest but it was too much and i got the honeywell one for 160 at home depot it has WiFi and the 7 days programmable schedule. the only thing that is the difference that i see is the nest is blue and my is green for the screen

[A790]

We have the Nest. Installed by Action Furnace when they came and installed my water heater. Was kind of an upsell (I was complaining about my old furnace), but for $250 or whatever it was I figured "fuck it".

LOVE IT. Damn son. I never thought I'd be as attached to a thermostat as I am...haha. I had one put in at my office so I could fuck with my employees from the house.

[CapnCrunch]

I don't see the difference between the Nest and any other wifi thermostat.

ZOMG ITS BLUE AND ROUND!!

GAME CHANGER!!!!!

[ZeroGravity]

I was looking into getting one as well. It looks nice and all, but didn't end up getting one mainly due to cost.

One question for all those who looked into the nest or are into home automation... Does nest "play well" with other home automation gadgets? The visit by the vivint guy got me thinking about home automation...

[sneek]

Originally posted by ZeroGravity
I was looking into getting one as well. It looks nice and all, but didn't end up getting one mainly due to cost.

One question for all those who looked into the nest or are into home automation... Does nest "play well" with other home automation gadgets? The visit by the vivint guy got me thinking about home automation...

It is wifi so it wouldn't work with anything that only handles Z-Wave or Zigbee. I believe it does work with Micasaverde products (Vera). I have also been debating one but right now the Lowes IRIS (~$90 in the US) is working so well that I have a hard time justifying something like the Nest.

[spike98]

Originally posted by ZeroGravity
I was looking into getting one as well. It looks nice and all, but didn't end up getting one mainly due to cost.

One question for all those who looked into the nest or are into home automation... Does nest "play well" with other home automation gadgets? The visit by the vivint guy got me thinking about home automation...

Originally posted by sneek


It is wifi so it wouldn't work with anything that only handles Z-Wave or Zigbee. I believe it does work with Micasaverde products (Vera). I have also been debating one but right now the Lowes IRIS (~$90 in the US) is working so well that I have a hard time justifying something like the Nest.

Nest has a Zigbee radio and is anticipated to interact with Zigbee components in the near future.

I have a nest and its great. But as of now its pretty locked up. It cannot really interact with anything other than its app or other nest products. That WILL change but i dont know when.

In my new house, i will be going a different route because i want "right now" compatibility. When Nest does start to interact with zigbee controllers i will most certainly switch back. The auto away function alone has showed savings on my utility bill.

[sillysod]

Do you guys actually set the temperature different at various times of the day?

I did it in my first house, but haven't bothered in years. The house is always set to the same temp and if it cools down the furnace comes on, if it goes above the a/c kicks in.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[sputnik]

I leave my house at 20C year round.

The only thing I do is change it from HEAT to COOL in May and then back to HEAT again in the fall.

I have never understood the reasoning behind constantly playing with the thermostat to save a few pennies each month.

[Cword]

I put one in my garage. The slab heat used to over shoot the set-point by 3-4C with a standard thermostat. The nest had the heat rate figured out within a couple days and I've not seen an over shoot since.
I set back to 10C through the week and then bring the shop up to working temp (17C) on the weekends, one thing that caught my eye was the nest pre-heating earlier when our outdoor temperatures were in that -20 to -30 range

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
I've never really believed that letting your house cool down while you are at work, then having to reheat it again when you get home… only to cool down when you go to bed and reheat again in the morning was more efficient than just using one temp. I think this whole thermostat savings thing is a scam.

it's not a scam. rates of heat loss are driven by the temperature gradient between your house and outside; reduce that temperature gradient, and lose less heat.

Originally posted by sputnik
I have never understood the reasoning behind constantly playing with the thermostat to save a few pennies each month.

I just got a programmable thermostat and saved a ton of money this winter. I actually just got my gas bill today, this bill I used 0.34 therms/day whereas this same month last year I used 1.40 therms/day. I saved $21.93 this month alone. It might seem like pennies, but it adds up. Call me cheap, but hell, I prefer to save my money rather than throw it away.

[Mitsu3000gt]

A programmable thermostat does the same thing if your goal is to turn down heat when you're not home and up a bit when you are. The nest is not really worth it IMO.

[FixedGear]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
A programmable thermostat does the same thing if your goal is to turn down heat when you're not home and up a bit when you are. The nest is not really worth it IMO.

This. I was planning to buy a nest, but in my reading it seemed that once it set in on your preferences, it would work more or less like a regular programmable thermostat. It's kinda cool to be able to just turn the knob to program it, and to change it while away, but IMO that didn't justify the massive price increase over a standard programmable. I was actually able to score a brand new Braeburn (that fit onto my existing base) for $35, which paid for itself in the first month. So now I'm just keeping money in the bank.

[sillysod]

The only advantage I can see is that it can be accessed by an app. So if you want to adjust the temp by 1 or 0.5 degrees you don't have to walk to the thermostat.

That being said I would rather not mess with it. Set it at 22c in the winter in the summer at 19c. If you leave it on Auto it will switch between Heat in the morning to AC at night on those Chinook days in the spring / fall.

Originally posted by FixedGear

I saved $21.93 this month alone. It might seem like pennies, but it adds up. Call me cheap, but hell, I prefer to save my money rather than throw it away.

My enmax bill is typically around $400/month and direct energy $200 in the winter. An extra $20 or $30 a month isn't worth it.

It's like people that turn the heat down and wear sweaters. We live in Canada - utilities are CHEAP - live like you are in a 1st world country.

[A790]

Originally posted by sillysod
The only advantage I can see is that it can be accessed by an app. So if you want to adjust the temp by 1 or 0.5 degrees you don't have to walk to the thermostat.

That being said I would rather not mess with it. Set it at 22c in the winter in the summer at 19c. If you leave it on Auto it will switch between Heat in the morning to AC at night on those Chinook days in the spring / fall.




My enmax bill is typically around $400/month and direct energy $200 in the winter. An extra $20 or $30 a month isn't worth it.

It's like people that turn the heat down and wear sweaters. We live in Canada - utilities are CHEAP - live like you are in a 1st world country.

There's nothing more first world than owning a $250 thermostat.

[Outie4000S]

Lots to think about, Thanks all.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch
I don't see the difference between the Nest and any other wifi thermostat.

ZOMG ITS BLUE AND ROUND!!

GAME CHANGER!!!!!

iPhone, a bit of industrial design cost a lot.

[JustinMCS]

I have a Nest and love it.

You can't compare it to any other WiFi thermostat as this one has a colour screen and looks gorgeous.

If you don't care for design, don't buy it.

I also have the Nest Protect and like that also.

[Cooked Rice]

Been using one since Sept. Only thing I suggest is, if you can hook up the 24V line. Occasionally the unit disconnects from the wifi because the battery level is low, which can be remedied with hooking up the 24V line to the furnace board. But it only happens maybe once a month, so I didn't bother re-wiring it.