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Nest Thermostat

deand1

deand1

Bronze Member
Super Patron
Anyone here use the Nest Learning Thermostat?

https://nest.com/thermostat/life-with-nest-thermostat

I wonder if the investment of $250 has enough value to pay for itself.

We are retired so someone is home almost all day and all night. Only when we go on trips is our home not occupied. When we go away we just turn the heat down to 55 degrees in the winter, and AC up to 85 degrees in the summer.

TIA
 
Not me. I look at all the fancy thermostats on a regular basis, but there is no way that it could really be significantly more responsive than a programmable set-back thermostat which allows for multiple programs during each day. Those can be had for prices that are a fraction of the NEST. We have one that was about $69.00. It allows for 4 different programs each day during the week, and then 2 on the weekend days.

NEST would have to be A LOT better to save enough to make up the difference in the prices.

Now that said, can it save $250 versus a STANDARD thermostat? YES. But so can a programmable unit at a fraction of the price.
 
I looked at the nest.

The ting that it has that programmable thermostats don't have is that it "Does it's thing" without a person remembering to make it happen. It responds automatically to change.

If the home dwellers are absolutely infallible at remembering then is has little value. It they tend to "forget" it could well, be worth the value.

Judgement call.
 
I don't see where it is worth it - or for that matter even a programmable thermostat - at least in our situation. Monica is a stay at home mom & farmerette. So there is someone at our house virtually all the time and when she does leave it is different days and times and usually not for more than an hour or two. We don't change the thermostat when we sleep at night because none of us like to be chilly when we sleep. So no need to set it back at night. We set our thermostat on 73 in the winter and about 75 in the summer. If we are going to be away for more than a day either to the fair or a goat show or something along those lines we will adjust. Other than that, it doesn't move.
 
The key with any of the 'set back' thermastats is that they save you money by turning down the temps in the winter and/or turning up the temps in the summer.

If people are ALWAYS home then turning down/up when the house is vacant for hours at a time is not desireable.

Ideally, to save $$$, the thermostat turns the heat down while you are at work. This assumes that there is roughly an 8 to 10 hour period when the house is vacant during the daytime. It kicks the heat back on an hour or so before you come home and warms up the house.

Then at night, while you are bundled in bed, it kicks it down again, saving you heating bills at night. Then kicks back on before you wake up so you can shower/shave in 'normal' air temps.

ANY of the programable units do the above. Doesn't matter if it is one of the "self-programable" or "learning" thermostats like the NEST or if it is a $39 to $99 model which have you programming the unit yourself. NONE will save you money if you don't use the 'set-back' features. ALL will save you money if you do use the set-back features.
 
The Nest sounds like another convenience that I can live without. The trouble with letting a device make decisions for you is that it doesn't always make the the decisions that you would.

We had programmable thermostats in Dallas almost 20 years ago when we both worked. They did what they were supposed to do and probably saved us money but they can't account for changes in routine unless you reprogram . It depends on how structured your lifestyle is.

Since we are both home most of the time, the ones we have now are programmable but not programmed. The temperature is set for either summer or winter and that's it. They are pretty though with colored screens and flashing icons and stuff. :yum:
 
I use the DropCam for home camera security and it is owned by Nest. They make nice products, however, I see no need for such a thermostat. Too complicated, too pricey and does things I do not need.

However, I find their IP CO / Heat / Photo / Ionization Detector to be very interesting. It covers all the bases and combines the best of both worlds with the combo smoke detector. It will also interface with my DropCam cameras.

Hmmm, when it warms up out, I just may go and pick one up. LOL.
 
If I'm cold, I turn the thermostat up. If I'm hot, I turn it down. I don't need to spend $250 to stay comfortable.
 
Kane said:
If I'm cold, I turn the thermostat up. If I'm hot, I turn it down. I don't need to spend $250 to stay comfortable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, hard to justify a programmable T-Stat for that kind of money. NEST makes good high quality consumer grade stuff, but........?
 
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