When the Nest Thermostat came out in 2011, their consumer-targeted campaign put the thermostat on the map. For the first time, people started looking at those white rectangular boxes hanging on the wall and realized that in a world where touchscreens were placed on vehicles, inspection cameras, and even refrigerators, they looked a little dated. I bought it almost immediately and have been a fan ever since. After using all of these, I can definitely help you pick the best Nest thermostat for your home or office.
A new look for the thermostat
Why Does a Thermostat Look Worse than an iPhone? The two ex-Apple execs seem to get it – but aside from looking cool, one of the great things about Nest is the intuitive ease of use it offers – while saving you a little money (more on that later) .
The biggest question (at least in our opinion) is whether mechanical companies will embrace this new technology. Will they see it as a potential upsell — or as a profit-sucking fad that's best left alone?
Before you weigh in, we're just upfront, and after interviewing professionals and researching the market, we recommend the former approach. Since most thermostats are sold with HVAC units, this could end up being a potentially important piece of equipment to understand and explain to a company's customers.
How does the Nest thermostat work?
If the Nest thermostat tops out anywhere, it's probably where it claims bold energy savings averaging up to $173 a year. That's a waste of quantity, they claim, and 89% of programmable thermostats are too complex for most consumers to use and program properly.
In effect, they are considered "set and forget" devices whose functionality remains largely unused. These numbers are of course up for debate, but the basic principle is unquestionably true—most people don't program their thermostats properly. Like the VCRs of the '80s, these little white boxes are intimidating, and consumers choose to simply ignore most of the available features.
The simplicity of the Nest thermostat
One of the great things about the Nest thermostat, and why it might be of great interest to your customers, is that (unlike a VCR) the Nest can pretty much program itself. When used properly, they claim you can save up to 20% on your heating and cooling bills.
But that's not the point. It just works.
It Knows When You're Sleeping…
The Nest thermostat has light and motion tracking sensors that scan everything within a 150-degree angle to detect activity in the room. It also has three temperature sensors and a WiFi connection to get weather data from your area via the Internet.
It knows when you're away…
With these combined capabilities, Nest can tell when you're home and set schedules for your HVAC system. It adjusts the temperature accordingly based on your initial settings, and manages "auto-away" times when it determines the house will be unoccupied for part of the day.
It's not as intrusive as the Amazon Echo, but it works. We have a home theater room upstairs where we watch TV a few nights a week. It has its own 1.5 ton air conditioning unit. It sits idle while my husband works and the kids are at school. Nest simply turns the temperature up when the room is occupied (or down during the winter months), so the air conditioner doesn't stay on all day for no reason.
I'm going to set limits so I can make sure the room doesn't get unnaturally hot or cold when unoccupied. At the same time, I don't pay for an air conditioner to keep the room hot or cold during the day when no one is using it.
Information nest LCD screen
The Nest thermostat displays a minimal amount of information on its LCD screen—just what you need to know. This basic information—temperature settings and room temperature—is on the device itself. It also lights up blue when cooling and red when warming up.
Plus, the Nest iOS and Android apps link directly to the device (the new Google Nest uses Google Home). Know you have to go home early? You can simply invoke the app and lower the temperature before leaving the office, airport, restaurant, and more. Want to check your schedule or get an energy report? You can do the same by opening a browser or application.
Add to that the fact that Nest has become so ubiquitous that you can pick one up on Amazon or Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, or anywhere else that sells electronics. It might not be an impulse buy, but for some, it's getting close.
Nest Learning Thermostats Generations 1-3
Nest Gen 1–Gen 3 thermostats differ very little from each other. Visually, they look very similar, save for a seam on the outer ring of the first-gen Nest thermostat.
The bottom plate of the first-gen Nest also only has eight straight connection points, rather than the curved 10 found on the second- and third-generation devices. Most importantly, second- and third-generation thermostats benefited from improvements in technology and manufacturing techniques. They also further refined the design as the product matured.
Google Nest Thermostat E
The slightly smaller Google Nest Thermostat E offers a lower cost of entry for those who want a smarter thermostat. It offers most of the features of the third-generation Nest, except for a few things (including only white).
Google used a polycarbonate body for the Model E thermostat, which has a ceramic feel. It fits 85% of conventional heating and cooling systems (only 6 wire connectors). The thermostat also lacks Nest's Farsight feature, which lights up to display various information when you're away from the unit. It also only has a 1 year warranty.
Google Nest Thermostat
In 2020, Google gave the Nest Thermostat a complete makeover for the first time since it bought it in 2014. The new model has fewer moving parts. Instead of a rotating outer ring, the latest Google Nest Thermostat uses a touch capacitor on the right side of the metal case. Touch the housing to activate functions, and slide your finger up or down to control values or inputs.
The Google G4CVZ Nest Thermostat feels less intuitive to use than its predecessor, but it's also nearly $100 less expensive. We bought one for our upstairs home theater room. Our goal is to have it automatically detect if a room is occupied. It did this perfectly, allowing us to set the temperature to higher and lower limits for most of the day.
Are you missing out on profitable opportunities?
Some of the biggest complaints about Nest thermostats come from professional HVAC technicians and business owners who think giving customers the opportunity to mess with their thermostats is a recipe for disaster. But there's more to it: People are excited about thermostats. This is the first time… I don't know… ever, people started talking about thermostats.
I mean, let it sink in a little bit.
You have (at least) two types of residential customers. First, they probably haven't heard of Nest. You can introduce them to an intelligent system that does what they want. Whether they plan to use the app or not, the Nest Thermostat gives them an intuitive way to manage temperature settings. That's impressive.
The second type of customer is the one who knows Nest and won't be impressed with the plain white box you specified for their new HVAC system. They might even ask. Give them the option to upgrade to a smart thermostat. If they were born after 1970, this will be something that will appeal to them – and your knowledge of the product may make your bid stand out from the competition.
Nest Thermostat features and specs compared
| Google Nest | nested 'E' | Third Generation | 1st/2nd generation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 2.4 inches 240×320 | 1.76 inches 320×320 | 2.08 inches 480×480 | 1.75 inches 320×320 |
| color | Fog, Sand, Charcoal, Snow | white | Stainless steel, Copper, Polished Steel, Mirror Black, White, Black, brass |
Stainless steel |
| compatibility | The Nest Thermostat works with most 24V heating and cooling systems, including furnaces, air conditioners, boilers, and heat pumps with forced air or radiant delivery. | The Nest Thermostat E is suitable for 85% of 24V heating and cooling systems including gas, electric, forced air, heat pump, radiant, oil, hot water, solar and geothermal. | The Nest Learning Thermostat works with 95% of 24V heating and cooling systems including gas, electric, forced air, heat pump, radiant, oil, hot water, solar and geothermal. That's based on data collected through Nest's online compatibility tool. | The Nest Learning Thermostat works with 95% of 24V heating and cooling systems including gas, electric, forced air, heat pump, radiant, oil, hot water, solar and geothermal. That's based on data collected through Nest's online compatibility tool. |
| sensor | Temperature Humidity Proximity (Passive Infrared Sensor) Soli Sensor Capacitive Touch Ambient Light for Motion Sense |
Temperature and humidity close to the sports environment Photomagnetism (for constant temperature ring position) | Temperature and humidity close to the sports environment Photomagnetism (for constant temperature ring position) | Temperature Humidity Proximity Motion Ambient Light Optics (for thermostat ring positions) |
| memory | 256MB | 256MB | 512MB | 512MB |
| diameter | 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) | 3.19 inches (8.1 cm) | 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) | 3.27 inches (8.3 cm) |
| Battery | 2x AAA 1.5V alkaline batteries | Built-in lithium ion | Built-in lithium ion | Built-in lithium ion |
| Voltage | 20-30V AC | 20-30V AC | 20-30V AC | 20-30V AC |
| wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
other considerations
Now, there are some potential issues with the Nest thermostat that are worth paying attention to. First off, the Gen 3 model costs a whopping $249. That's a lot of money for a thermostat, so you might want to offer it as an upgrade rather than include it in the proposal (so you don't come in at a higher price than the competition). Fortunately, you also have the option of the Nest Thermostat E or the newer Google Nest.
Nest also only allows a single wire per junction point, relying on internal sensing to correctly patch connections as needed. This can cause problems for some installations and can turn a familiar and simple installation with a known thermostat into a more complicated endeavor.
potential problems
Another potential issue with Nest is that, as a thermostat, Nest needs extra consideration for warranty support, since it's a fairly expensive product. If the Nest needs out-of-warranty service, you'll need a plan to either have some spare parts on hand or be prepared to temporarily replace the standard thermostat for your customer. The Nest thermostat comes with a two-year warranty (from the date of purchase) on the second-generation model and a five-year warranty on the first-generation model.
second stage heating
For those of you up north, the second-generation Nest thermostat doesn't currently support using an auxiliary (second stage) heat source for emergency heating. Instead, Nest will activate secondary heating when needed to keep your home warm. You can use the Nest controls to manually turn on emergency heating by setting a temperature threshold.
Finally, on older systems that can't return to Common (the "C" line), Nest may have issues keeping the internal lithium-ion battery charged. This is addressed in detail in documentation found online, but the bottom line is that you may need to do some trickery to get this to work.
Do you have a Nest thermostat at work? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.