You may be wondering what a Nest Learning Thermostat is. Or why you would even want one. Besides, the thermostat on the wall has been working fine for years, right? We’ll be going over the basics to help you better understand this technology and its benefits so that you can decide if a smart thermostat is right for you.
Value
Let’s get to the important stuff, like how a learning thermostat saves money! The Nest Learning Thermostat will save about 10%-12% of heating usage and about 15% of cooling usage in homes with central air conditioning. This means that Nest can pay for itself in as little as a year. Not a bad investment. Additionally, you can sign up to get personalized energy tips on how to save even more money.
Technology
The thermostat is packed with sensors and chips. In fact, it contains 10 temperature sensors alone! These sensors make it “smart”—it knows when people are in the room, if it’s in direct sunlight, what the humidity level is, and more. This information coordinates with your HVAC system to develop a plan to maximize efficiency.
The Nest Learning Thermostat can also “learn” your habits and preferences. For example, if you regularly turn the temperature down at 9pm, the thermostat will start doing that for you, all on its own. If it notices that you leave the house on weeknights from 7am to 6pm, it will plan for that. But it won’t make any changes without your permission. And if you’re the type of person who likes to get hands-on, you can manually program Nest from your phone.
Design
The Nest Learning Thermostat revolutionized the way thermostats look and work. Its round appearance is reminiscent of the old Honeywell design from 1953. Except that it has a large, bright, and easy to read screen that can be seen from across the room.
Nest is designed to be simple to use, but effective. The metal ring on the outside spins to adjust the temperature or to navigate the menus. The ring is also used to make selections by pushing it in. The menus are simple and easy to understand—no abbreviations or unknown button combos in order to get it to work.
Nest Protect – How and Why
The Nest Protect is a new approach to the fire alarm and CO detector. Like the Nest Thermostat, it has plenty of sensors. Because of that, it knows the difference between a fast fire or smoke from the toaster. Instead of a blinking light, a color coded ring near the center allows you to check the status at a glance.
What if there’s a problem? The Protect will activate a calm voice that explains what’s happening and in which room. Not to worry, it also has a traditional 85 dB siren and a night mode which will light up the pathway when it senses motion.
Nest Protect is powered by wire or battery so you don’t have to worry about whether it’s compatible with your existing setup. When it’s connected to your WiFi, you can control it remotely with your phone. You can also set it up to send alerts to your phone in case you’re away. Or, you can snooze the system if it’s a false alarm.
Learn More
We’ve just scratched the surface of the many features and benefits that Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect offer, and how they can add security and convenience to your everyday life. Call us if you have any questions, or set up a free consultation with a Sila expert to learn how a Nest product can enhance your lifestyle.
