#russellapps

[jamierussell]

The "Nest" Learning Thermostat Gets Me!

After owning several impossible-to-use programable thermostats I was intrigued to hear about a new option that launched by the former Senior Vice President of the iPod Division of Apple by the name of Tony Fadell… as an Apple fanatic I was sold right there! It’s called the Nest Learning Thermostat by Nest Labs founded in 2010.

Initially I was disappointed to find out that the first generation Nest did not support dual fuel heat pumps like the one I own. I didn’t panic and waited calmly for a year or so. I recently purchased a second generation Nest at the Apple store. Unlike the first generation it is compatible with my system. Below is my installation Vine video. If you can see it click here

The documented steps for installation did a great job of walking me through the installation. I had one hiccup with one of the hookups and visited the support documentation and after describing my symptoms I found the simple solution.

Nest offers a free app that connects to your Nest Learning Thermostat allowing you to control and program the Nest from your iPhone. You can also monitor how energy efficient you are. For those of us that are highly susceptible to gamification you can receive a leaf on the more energy efficient days.

I have noticed after a few weeks of having the Nest installed that the convenience of the app allows us to tell the Nest when we are away easier. The Nest learns from our repetitive activities. It is also equipped with a motion detector so it knows when we are home by our movement. It also lights up when you walk up to it via the motion detector, this is a pretty cool feature.

For those of us more aesthetic types the Nest simple looks darn good on the wall. I makes me feel good inside every time I walk by the thing. Let me know if you have any questions about the Nest… comment below.