NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT REVIEW -RECAP
The Nest Learning Thermostat is loaded full of features and functionality. Before I summarize this review, lets recap some highlights.
Installation:
- easy installation, multiple colors to choose from to complement your decor
- stickers and backing plate make it very simple to follow instructions
- Very good documentation, easy to follow videos.
- Trim plate provided to cover up any mismatches in size, so you don’t have to repaint.
- A note about letting the Nest Learning Thermostat charge for a few minutes would not hurt.
Setup
- Setup was pretty straight forward, create account, get the Nest Learning Thermostat on your network.
- very well documented as with the Installation, Application and
- Nest Learning Thermostat powers up and walks you through putting it on your network.
- Its a learning thermostat.. creates its own schedule.. can it be any easier?
Applications
- Nest has an Applications for all your devices
- IOS / Android
- Iwatch/ Android wearables
- website for computers
- All of the applications share a very similar ( If not exact) user interface.
- You can get to all of the settings from each of the applications. Which is good as it doesn’t limit your choice in how you would like to control it. To each their own.
- Quite a few 3rd party applications to work with the Nest Learning Thermostat
3rd Party compatibility
- Works with Nest program well established
- Compatible with all the major Smart Hubs ( Wink, Smarthings)
- Huge supported product list, Amazon Echo to Rachio water controls.
- IFTTT support for so many other applications
- Could be one of the best compatibility programs out there
- No direct Apple Homekit support at this time.
NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT REVIEW – Summary
My experience with the Next Learning Thermostat has been very positive. I have had it installed for quite some time and have enjoyed the functionality it
has brought to my home. I do believe it has saved me money and most importantly time. After reviewing all of the bells and whistles, my favorite feature is the leaf. The leaf is the trade mark symbol of the Nest Learning Thermostat that shows you have chosen a setting that saves energy.
As a Nest user, you receive a monthly usage report. It does have advertisements for other products, they are after all in the business of selling products. What it does have that is very interesting is the usage information.
I very much like that on a monthly basis, I get a report of how I am doing on energy. That coupled with the fact that they pit neighbor vrs neighbor, makes me a more frugal user. I like seeing that I am in the 20% of nesters in my area working to use less energy.
A close second is the amount of time I spend having to manage the Nest Learning Thermostat. Which is zero. After I setup the Nest thermostat and it watched my family and our habits, it created its own schedule. I have never in a year felt the need to adjust it. I have from time to time turned the temp up or down for a brief time.
I have played with Geofencing, while using the Home away assist. It works, but like all geofencing applications. It did have an effect on my battery life and phone performance. Also, I like to use my GPS to capture portals and pokemon. Not to mention figure out where I am driving. With three of us in the house and our busy schedules, the auto away has worked great. It even has made seasonal adjustments to schedules.
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Integrating the Nest Learning Thermostat into my overall home system has been a snap. As you can see in the review, it was easy to add to my Wink hub, and setting it up with Amazon Echo was very simple. Although, I do hope for more commands, if for nothing else, just to show off during the holidays. Integrating the Nest Learning Thermostat into my Wink hub allows me to use the home and away features to lock the front door and send alerts when someone arrives home. Along with many other features.
The Nest Learning Thermostat has a good feature set. Lots of compatibility on the smart home automation front, but also on the heating and cooling side.
Taking advantage of controlling more parts of your system and leveraging them to be as efficient as possible. As with the Airwave feature. Leveraging an already cold compressor for 10~15 minutes of cooler air while its off, that is genius, that easily adds up to hours over the course of a summer.
Google Home is right around the corner. I expect to see even more things come from the Nest product line as it is released. I won’t hold my breadth for Home kit compatibility. I do expect products under the Alphabet umbrella to really bring a strong presence in the smart home automation market.
Taking all these features and the performance of the Nest Learning Thermostat. The Nest Learning Thermostat is definitely worthy of SHA’s Beyond Awesome Award!
