Extending Tesla lifestyle with Nest?

[sp4rk]

Among other reasons we drive our Teslas is to save energy.

And use its app.

And ... and ... and.

I just had a thermostat blow up on me. I thought it was cool when I bought it 3-4 years ago ... from Proliphix. Web based. Was going to order a replacement when I was walking through my local Home Depot and saw "your new thermostat."

Made by Nest. It's cool and it's hot. $245. Steep, but so are our cars!

I have it up and running. Wowsa. Looks VERY MUCH like the center dashboard of our Model S's.

I looked up the company behind them. Venture backed from Silicon Valley. Now there's a shock! Alumnae from Apple (feel like Apple.) And TESLA! They pinched a CFO?

Anyway ... wondered if anyone here might have also installed it. Has an app to control it remotely.

Should mention; I have no stock in this company (Nest) is it even traded? Just a customer with 1 unit. Maybe more later. Tech support so far great. But am long TSLA, of course!

I just think that many of us who like high tech gadget-itis would love this. Nest | The LearningThermostat | Home

 

[bonnie]

I installed a Nest over a year ago (was on the wait list for the first ones out). LOVE it. I don't even think about the house temp anymore. It knows what I like. And that steep price tag has been repaid many times over.

 

[ElSupreme]

Meh. I have a 7 day programmable thermostat. Works great. If I end up at home and the AC is set for 85 then I just adjust it. The program picks back up in the next time session. Cost me like $60, and I got $30 rebate from my power company. So out of pocket was $30.

My in-laws had a NEST but it didn't work very well. But they had very odd hours, and no real schedule. Add on the fact their house didn't have any AC, only heat, it didn't work very well.

But I don't like making things more complicated than they need to be.

It also seems that the NEST guys have the Apple pricing structure figured out. Charge about 2x what something comparable on the markets costs, just make it look really slick.

 

[Sus]

I love our nest thermometer as well. Was hesitant about the price originally but think its been well worth it. The best is when I'm on the couch and feel like turning on the AC. Don't need to walk to the thermostat to turn it on since I always have my phone with me. Another cool use case is when I'm driving home from a long trip. I can turn on the AC when we're almost home and come home to cool house.

It's not publicly traded yet though. Would love to have been able to invest.

 

[fiksegts]

have 3 nests in my home, works great!

 

[nirvanaman]

I have had mine in for about 6 months. Does it save any money versus a well programmed standard thermostat? Eh, prolly not. But its really cool. And I love being able to adjust the temp when I am on my way home (or if you forget to turn the heat or A/C off when going away on a trip until you get to the airport, no problem just open the app). They also keep adding software features to it, so like the Tesla, it's a product that gets better with age. I have it running in a 90 year old house and love the mix of old world craftsmanship with cutting edge tech.

 

[efusco]

Nest is sort of the iPod of thermostats, but there are better ones, offering more functionality that have all or most of the Nest features plus extras. We use a Honeywell (can't recall the model) with an iPhone app, it's easily programmable and adjustable, monitors humidity (and manages your humidifier if you have one).

 

[sp4rk]

I installed a Nest over a year ago (was on the wait list for the first ones out). LOVE it. I don't even think about the house temp anymore. It knows what I like. And that steep price tag has been repaid many times over.

Then yours may be obsolete ... already? What version do you have?
Just wiki'd them - interesting read.
Honeywell are upset. Sore losers?

 

[tenstringer009]

I just installed a Nest at our family home in Tahoe a couple of weeks ago. Really simple install, but it does look a bit too futuristic in a rustic cabin. Definitely looking forward to being able to pre-warm the house as we drive up during the winter.

 

[strider]

I'm with ElSup. I have a programmable thermostat and it does the same job for a whole lot less. Wake, Away, Return, Sleep settings for weekend and weekday. If Christmas Day falls on a weekday just click the temp button a couple times as you walk by.

That being said, a coworker of mine did cite one reason he likes his. His teenagers like to crank the A/C or heat when the parents aren't home so the Nest allows him to monitor their usage and override them when he's away.

So unless you have recalcitrant teenagers (are there any other kind?) I don't think it's worth it. But if you think it's cool and can afford it, then go for it! I've made plenty of purchases over the years that don't make financial sense but I think they're cool.

 

[pete8314]

Nest rocks. I was also on the first reservation list, so can compare to my costs last year. My previous stats (I have 2 Nests, 1 up, 1 down) were Z-Wave controllerable, so they were already heavily scheduled, and in theory, presence-aware. One of Nest's selling points is that they'll learn your schedule, but I do not use that feature, though for the many people around me that just set & forget their stat to 75f, it would save them a fortune.

Once I even out everything else, I'm still saving ~20% on last year, and with a summer electric bill of ~$400, that's significant. I've also just signed up to connect my Nests to my Poco, so when there's heavy demand, they'll be able to reduce my energy usage (which I can always override), and in return I get 80c per KWh saved. Some people, I know, will have a fit about Big Brother controlling you, but that kind of thing, in this context, doesn't bother me in the slightest, I still have full control.

I agree, they're expensive for what they are, but so are many, many well-designed, disruptive products.

 

[apacheguy]

I have a Radio Thermostat that works quite well. Plus, they released an API for developers and have an excellent mobile app.

oh, and its only $100. Check it out: RADIO THERMOSTAT » WiFi Thermostats

 

[bollar]

You know, there are several Teslas in the Nest parking lot. Once an API is released, I would not be surprised to find that the car's position is incorporated into the Nest's "auto away" and pre-cooling algorithms.

 

[bonnie]

Then yours may be obsolete ... already? What version do you have?
Just wiki'd them - interesting read.
Honeywell are upset. Sore losers?

I received one of the first 100 shipped. But the software is updated, as needed.

Next new toy I'm waiting on ... Lockitron. I helped fund through kickstarter - my product ships next week. Woooooot!

 

[mknox]

I've been using an ecobee thermostat for several years now. It has a great web interface as well as a slick mobile app and is integrated with several brands of Smart Meters to allow for utility Demand Response programs and real-time electricity consumption reporting.

For some reason, Nest got a lot of Apple-like buzz (probably because at least one of its founders came from Apple) and have taken off in the public mind.

 

[bollar]

I've been using an ecobee thermostat for several years now. It has a great web interface as well as a slick mobile app and is integrated with several brands of Smart Meters to allow for utility Demand Response programs and real-time electricity consumption reporting.

For some reason, Nest got a lot of Apple-like buzz (probably because at least one of its founders came from Apple) and have taken off in the public mind.

I'm a former ecobee user. IMO, ecobee had a few problems that slowed their adoption:

- Installation on the V1 that required a separate control unit at the furnace (and pushing sales through HVAC installers). The Si version has improved on this, but the first mover advantage was lost.
- A fidgety touch screen
- Too much dependence on the legacy programmable thermostat paradigm

The Nest on the other hand borrows from the non-programmable thermostat paradigm and is extremely simple to install and operate.

In any event, I saved more money with ecobee and Nest than I did with the old programmable thermostat. I save a bit more with Nest because of its auto away capability.

 

[mknox]

- A fidgety touch screen

I think you're right, but I never actually use the thermostat itself. Mainly just the mobile and web apps.

- Too much dependence on the legacy programmable thermostat paradigm

The Nest on the other hand borrows from the non-programmable thermostat paradigm and is extremely simple to install and operate.

I actually prefer that because with my schedule and my wife's work shifts there's no way a thermostat is going to learn anything ineligible about my habits :smile:

The one thing the ecobee (and as far as I know, Nest) can't do is integrate very well with Home Automation systems. I used to use a "dumb" RCS thermostat and did all of the scheduling through my HA system including home/away presence detection through connections to things like motion sensors and my home alarm system state.

Having said all of this, I am responsible for a residential Demand Response program at the utility I work for, and we do this through pager-based addressable thermostats. They are plain old Honeywell units that work well enough, but certainly aren't "sexy" like the Nest. We get a lot of inquiries about Nest and are in the early stages of exploring whether we can incorporate Nest into our program.

 

[bollar]

The one thing the ecobee (and as far as I know, Nest) can't do is integrate very well with Home Automation systems. I used to use a "dumb" RCS thermostat and did all of the scheduling through my HA system including home/away presence detection through connections to things like motion sensors and my home alarm system state.

This is true. ecobee's Zigbee integration is good! The other great thing about ecobee is the data reporting -- there was lots of consumption data available through the reporting portal. Nest's reporting is easier to read, but much less detailed.

Having said all of this, I am responsible for a residential Demand Response program at the utility I work for, and we do this through pager-based addressable thermostats. They are plain old Honeywell units that work well enough, but certainly aren't "sexy" like the Nest. We get a lot of inquiries about Nest and are in the early stages of exploring whether we can incorporate Nest into our program.

My utility is a rural cooperative, so we'll probably never have that. I do see the programs that Reliant and Austin Energy offer and they are impressive. Apparently the Austin / Nest agreement was used for the first time a couple of weeks ago to shave an unusually high peak load.

 

[VaTessla]

Have 3 nests in my home, one at a beach home (weekly rental) a state away, all controlled by one iPhone app. I absolutely love the technology and have saved $$ with them! Although I see the Nest as simple and elegant - this summer I've gotten calls from a couple of renters who've had issues figuring it out!

 

[pete8314]

I received one of the first 100 shipped. But the software is updated, as needed.

Next new toy I'm waiting on ... Lockitron. I helped fund through kickstarter - my product ships next week. Woooooot!

Well ,since we're talking about toys, I just signed up for 3 of these...same concept as Lockitron, but it has a few other cool features. I love the idea of 'central locking' and keyless entry for the house.

- - - Updated - - -

The one thing the ecobee (and as far as I know, Nest) can't do is integrate very well with Home Automation systems. I used to use a "dumb" RCS thermostat and did all of the scheduling through my HA system including home/away presence detection through connections to things like motion sensors and my home alarm system state..

Nest is supposed to integrate with SmartThings (another of my Kickstarter investments), but it's not working yet. It has Zigbee on board, but they seem to be keeping a tight reign on it, for now, at least.

The problem with nearly all of the Kickstarter things I've back is that they're very 'beta' when they come out, which, of course, is expected, but I'm kind of impatient waiting for the right functionality to come along. I received my LeapMotion today, and while it's cool, it needs a lot more polish before it's useful.

I hope the next thing Nest do is a house alarm, the UI for all, or most, of those really suck.