Nest Learning Thermostat

The Nest Learning thermostat was the first smart product that I purchased for my home.  When we purchased our home in 2016 it had two different models of programmable thermostats.  One for the second floor and one for the first floor and basement.  These were controlling two forced hot air gas furnaces.  I knew heating and cooling a 5000 square foot house wasn't going to be cheap so I needed to do something.

The programmable thermostats that I had installed were a beast to program and I am a programmer by trade. I really wanted something easier to use so I started looking at the Nest thermostats.  But at $250 each that was a lot of money.  Luckily they go on sale every summer for $200 and my utility has a $100 rebate on the thermostats so I was able to get them for $100 each.  Still more expensive than a standard programmable thermostat but for the extra functionality I think it is worth it.

Installation was pretty simple.  I am fairly handy so I am not afraid of a little DIY.  The base has a built in level and they give you a cool little screwdriver for installation.  The app will walk you through the rest of the steps and then it is pretty much set it and forget it.  The first couple weeks after installation the thermostats are in learning mode so you need to manually adjust for comfort.  The thermostats have motion sensors so that know when someone is home or not.  They also use geo-fencing so you can tie them to your phones and the thermostats know when you are away so they turn your heat or AC up or down accordingly.

I have had my thermostats installed for a year now and am pretty satisfied.  I don't have a lot of history in my house so I don't know how much I am actually saving but Nest claims up to 15%.  I am in New England so my heating bills are higher than my cooling bills but I can definitely tell that my furnace/blower is not running as much.

The app is really nice.  My only gripe is I wish they provided more than 10 days of history. This is a google company after all.  I love data analytics and it would be nice to be able to export this data to a spreadsheet and do a year by year comparison.  The only other warning is that HVAC guys seem to hate Nest thermostats.  I had a couple HVAC guys come to give me estimates for a new furnace and when they saw I had Nests, they all had some negative comment about them.  One guy told me they he had to replace a bunch because they weren't working.  Another guy warned me about them as well.  I kind of think that the "trade" guys don't like a technology company coming on their turf.

Overall I am pretty happy with my Nests.  They look really cool.  The ability to see and control my thermostats from anywhere is great.  Integration with other smart products is something that I am looking forward to down the road as well.  Best of all I am saving money on heating and cooling without having to worry about it.  For additional savings some utilities offer what is called the Nest Rush Hour Rewards program.