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Now is the perfect time to pick up one of the best smart thermostats. It’s fall, but not cold enough for your thick coat to come off, and you can easily install a smart thermostat and test it to make sure it’s working properly before you really need it.
Not only will a smart thermostat keep your home at the optimal temperature, it will also help you save money in the process. That’s because smart thermostats can detect when you’re not home, so they don’t waste energy, but can be ready at the right temperature when you return. They can also analyze your patterns and the weather and make recommendations on what temperature you should set to reduce your energy bills.
When Nest Thermostat came out in 2011, their consumer campaign put thermostats on the map. People first started seeing those white rectangular boxes hanging on the wall and realized they looked a little dated in a world where touchscreens were placed on vehicles, check cameras and even refrigerators. I bought it almost immediately and have been a fan ever since. After using it all, I can definitely help you pick the best Nest thermostat for your home or office.
The first thing that catches your eye is the Nest Thermostat’s mirror; it’s a little larger than the one you’d find in a makeup case, and it may be just as useful if you need to touch up your makeup as you pass by.
Temperature and other status updates glow from beneath its surface, but only when you’re near the thermostat and sense your presence. Up close, you can see that the actual display is a small square inside a circle.
While the Nest Thermostat has the same circular shape as the Nest Learning Thermostat, its outer bezel (made of plastic, not metal) doesn’t rotate; instead, there’s a small touch bar on the right side that can be used to navigate menus and select items. It’s easy to use – although I accidentally clicked when I wanted to scroll – but not as classic or as satisfying as the original.
For better or worse, you don’t have to touch the surface of the Nest Thermostat to select items – or mess up the reflective surface with fingerprints – but years of using the touchscreen made me want to reflexively tap the display.
Inexpensive
Attractive
Easy to use
Lacks smarts of other Nest thermostats
Doesn’t work with remote sensors
Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat has been around for a while, but it’s still one of the top contenders in the smart thermostat space. Like many who chose it, I was drawn to its clean, high-end aesthetic and the promise of finer control over not only my heating system, but also the temperature of individual rooms in my home.
It’s important to note that while intrigued by Nest’s promise, I was initially hesitant about the integration process. I live in a house that is over 120 years old. Obviously, the heating system is much newer, but it’s still what I would call fairly old. The idea of connecting a Wi-Fi-enabled, AI-using, smart assistant-communicating thermostat to my home and expecting it to work perfectly with a heating and cooling system installed more than 20 years ago caused a kind of cognitive dissonance that made it hard to believe this could go smoothly.
While the installation process was occasionally confusing, it was surprising in many (almost universally) positive ways. I won’t dramatize the ending, but I have a new appreciation for how cutting-edge systems can be designed to integrate into legacy infrastructure when designed correctly.
Attractive design and finish
Great mobile app
Very simple to operate
Learns and adapts with use
No zonal heating control
Functionality relies on good placement
A smart thermostat can keep you comfortable and help you save big on energy costs, but maybe you put it off because you didn’t think it was worth the hassle. The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat isn’t a huge leap from previous models – it has a larger, easier-to-read display and can detect motion from a greater distance.
However, it’s not just the hardware that makes the $249 Nest so compelling; it’s the technology behind it. It can learn your behavior and adjust the temperature accordingly, and Nest’s new connected home platform promises more integration with other smart home devices.
The third generation of Nest includes many new features that are being filtered down to previous generations of the product. These include Auto Plan, in which Nest learns your preferred temperature and automatically programs it, and Auto Away Mode, which lowers the temperature when it senses you’re not home. A furnace alert feature alerts you if the furnace detects an irregular off pattern.
Large display
Works with multiple smart home systems
Easy to install
Can't monitor temperature in multiple rooms
Doesn't work with Apple HomeKit
When it comes to making your home as comfortable as possible, the right temperature is key. After all, there’s nothing more unbearable than a house that’s too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. That’s why a good thermostat can make a big difference – and it’s not just about how your house feels, either. The right thermostat can actually help you reduce your energy costs, too.
Smart thermostats have become very popular in recent years because they can save energy, lower heating and cooling costs, and take all the guesswork out of keeping your home at a comfortable temperature.
Nest is one of the leaders when it comes to smart thermostat brands. Their thermostats are as high-tech as they come, and offer a wide range of useful features that make them very user-friendly.
The appearance of a Nest thermostat isn’t as important as its performance, but you may still want a model that coordinates with your home’s decor.
Some Nest models come with a variety of ring housing colors, including white, copper, black and stainless steel. However, other models are only available in a single color.
You’ll also find some models with rings in polished metal finishes, while others have a polycarbonate finish that resembles ceramic.
While all Nest thermostats have clear, easy-to-read displays, some models come with frosted displays that blend in with the ring for a seamless look.
Others offer a high-resolution color display that is very user-friendly and provides information about your home’s internal temperature in addition to the time and external temperature or weather.
All Nest thermostats can help you save energy and money, but only certain models are ENERGY STAR qualified, which means they meet strict energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If energy efficiency is important to you, it may be worth it to invest in an ENERGY STAR certified Nest model.
Nest thermostats are designed to automatically shut off when you leave your home to save energy.
However, some models have learning features that allow them to learn your preferred temperature and schedule, so the thermostat can maintain a comfortable temperature for your home without you having to make adjustments manually.
These learning models can even detect changes in your daily routine and automatically adjust your heating and cooling schedules based on your new habits.
So many users love the Nest Learning Thermostat. While we love this, we think it's more like the best thermostat for Google Nest lovers than the best thermostat on the market. If you live on a consistent, clockwork-like schedule, that's great too. However, if you want something more flexible or ...
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The budget-friendly Energy Star-certified Google Nest thermostat is as pretty as it is beautiful, but it's not really a smart thermostat, at least not like its older sibling, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, which tries to understand your preferences and routines and create a heating and ...
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The Smart Thermostat does more than just manage your home's heating and cooling: it's an app-enabled device with a ton of different features. It allows you to control the temperature of your home from anywhere, whether you want to turn on the heat before you head home from the office from a ...
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