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WHAT’S BEEN SAID about Nest that hasn’t been covered already. While it’s been covered extensively since its launch in 2012, and even more so since Google bought it this time last year, it took a while before it eventually made its way over here.
Nest has received much praise for how it has re-imagined something as mundane as the thermostat but does it live up to its reputation?
Design
There are only two components required to get Nest up and running, the controller (a aluminium cylinder ring) and the receiver which replaces your current thermostat and usually takes less than an hour for a professional to install.
It helps that Nest controller is quite a nice and stylish device, keeping things as simple as possible. The more steps and requirements you throw at, the more bogged down people will become until they give up.
The actual thermostat itself is easy to use and the simplicity behind it makes easy to understand, and even if you don’t, the mobile app fills in some of the blanks. Twist it to adjust the temperature and push it in to access options. That’s all you need to know.
The one thing you need to keep in mind is even if you don’t intend to mount Nest onto the wall, the distance you can place it from the receiver is limited, and you have to have it plugged in constantly for it to work, but you can at least use your phone to control it remotely.
Display
Due to the nature and size of the thermostat, you will only get the minimum information from it. It is possible to check energy levels, schedule heating times and choose away mode, but everything outside of adjusting the temperature itself should be left to your smartphone app.
Simply because your phone has more real-estate and space to let you properly adjust and check the proper heating schedule.
The device will advise you on which temperatures are better for saving energy as you adjust it with a simple leaf icon. It’s simple, but it’s enough to get the point across when you’re scheduling.
Learning
It’s probably best to describe Nest learning mechanism as similar to a puppy. While it’s rather good at determining when you’re in our out of the house and the temperatures you like your house to be at, you will need to keep an eye on it for the first two weeks as it learns your schedule.
Part of this is done by the display’s sensor, which lights up anytime you come close to it, but it also takes into account what you schedule.
Depending on the temperatures outside, it will adjust the heading to cope with the change, which can be useful in certain cases.
Instead of turning the heat on full blast for an hour at a time, Nest follows more of a continuous heating system where lower temperatures for longer is better in the long run.
Ultimately, this kind of learning is really going to be handy for any family or group that follow a (somewhat) consistent schedule. Since it does learn through its sensor, if anyone comes in close proximity to it, it will make a note of it for future reference, and learn through that.
This isn’t a big issue, but if your first week or two using it involves you or someone else being home more often than usual, then it will treat that as a regular occurrence. It’s better to nip it in the bud straight away than find it heats up the house when nobody is around.
On the go
As mentioned earlier, Nest’s app (iOS and Android) gives you more scope for scheduling and checking your heating than the actual thermostat itself. Turning on the heat remotely is always appealing and if you’re home a little earlier, you can increase the temperature so it’s nice and warm when you arrive.
One of the problems with the app is it only allows one account to sign in, meaning you will either have to cede control to one person, or give a second (or third) person the account details.
It’s not exactly ideal and a system which would allow one person admin status and others limited access might be better in the long run, especially since you can turn on an away feature.
Conclusion
Who this will appeal to will depend on how often you use your heating and how consistent a schedule both you and the people living with you are.
If you’re a family, then it’s likely that there will be enough consistency to allow and adjust the temperature to suit your family. Yet if there isn’t – you live with other professionals for example – then its usefulness diminishes a little. Not entirely, but you will have to keep an eye on it for longer before.
And that leaves the big question: will you save money using it? The copout answer is it depends on how rigid your schedule is and those you live with. In our case, the heating bill was slightly less than the same period last year, and it’s hard to tell since the weather has been inconsistent at best.
If it’s a case that you have the heat on regularly and you only set it to specific temperatures, then the automatic adjustments will come in useful, but if those living in your house or flat aren’t that consistent when it comes to schedule, then it may be harder to get the benefits from it.
If you have a system that already works well for you, then there isn’t much here to convince you to change apart from it being a sleek gadget, but those who are looking for a replacement could be better served from this. It just really depends on what you’re looking for.
Pros
- Easy to use and simple interface
- Learns quickly and adapts to changes in temperature.
- Simple app for remote control.
Cons
- You will have to keep a close eye on it at the beginning.
- You can’t control hot water separately.
- App is really designed for only one person to control.
The Nest Thermostat costs €219 and is available at Google Play, Apple Store, Harvey Norman, Electric Ireland,
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Will it work with coal and turf?
Course it will . They thought of everything . Just click twice and go to options . Select turf and coal .
What if you cant afford Oil or Gas, Has it got an IOU button.
I run the electricity off the gas and the gas off the electricity.
Lol, great quote
Honeywell has a system that looks less elegant but gives much more control as you can fit a wirelessly controlled valve in individual radiators. This allows you to, for example, leave bedrooms off during the day and only heat up in the evening ready for bedtime. I believe you can control water separately too.
Yes Neil but I bet it doesn’t work with turf and coal .
Just threw a shovel of coal and a banana skin into the stove and was wondering what its like to live in a house where the gizmo is set to 13.5 , it’s 21 here :-)
Does the Honeywell yoke control the boiler too? Can I control it from my phone?
Invest in some slack mixed with 2 cups of water .. Yer only man to keep a fire and reduce coal and turf costs.
How much does this yoke cost, would I have to get another mortgage?
Joh , the nests 219 euro . don’t now about the Honeywell
*John*
I bet if it was called a yoke,you’d call it a nest.
But I’d be wrong, wouldn’t I? Cause Honeywell don’t make the Nest.
Sitting here in shorts and a t-shirt, despite it being -2 outside thanks to unlimited free heating and hot water available in virtually all apartments in Sweden. So, no need for a Nest. Heating and hot water, for the most part here, comes from incinerating rubbish – effectively a free source of fuel. Ireland, in fact, pays Sweden to take rubbish to be incinerated. So it’s a double-win for Sweden – getting money to take what is heating fuel. And we’re not the only country that pays Sweden to do this. Imagine Saudi Arabia paying you to take oil.
Virtually every town in the country has an incinerator which in turn heats homes and hot water, and Stockholm has a lot of them. Despite this, Stockholm has some of the cleanest air of any capital city in Europe. I would not have described myself as anti-incinerator in Ireland before coming here, though I was not fond of the idea. However, since coming to Sweden, I think we are absolutely mad in Ireland that we do not incinerate instead of using landfill (or paying Sweden to take it away).
Have been using this for two years. Heating and cooling costs are down by 30% and I can control it from my phone. So if we have been away, 40 mins before I get home I set the temp and arrive home to a warm house
The boiler has to be running first though right?
I don’t get it. You have one thermostat so you need to walking near it for it to realise you are home and then it manages the heat but as someone else mentions it turns all rooms on. If I wanted one per zone like you have with underfloor heating would that be €200 each or are additional thermostats cheaper?
No it just behaves like a regular thermostat and will click the boiler on and off as needed. It’s just smart because it learns the patterns of the house like no one home mon-fri 8-5 so at 4 it kicks on the heating so when you get home at 5 the house is warm. It learns how long it takes to reach temperature and it also includes outside temp in its
To buy nest off electric Ireland you lose your 28% duel fuel allowance for 2 years so where’s the incentive to buy it I asked them about savings and they didn’t have any figures?
Correct. It will not work with turf and coal. A major downfall. That’s why I would not purchase.
That’s the beauty of this system you can download an app on your iPhone and control your coal fire when your not at home . What technology can do these days is amazing .
My only interaction with my heating is the timer switch on the boiler. There’s a thermostat in the hallway but I’m barely aware of it. Any time I’ve fiddled with it didn’t seem to do too much. I wonder does this kind of device make sense in a home where you have direct access to the boiler? I do like the idea of being able to turn on the heating from my phone on the way home but I don’t see how this could work for me. It is pretty, and is a sweet gadget, but at 250 whipper I’d have to be sure it’s what I need …
It replaces your thermostat in your hall. I don’t think I have ever been near my boiler.
If I find out that the one in the hall can regulate the boiler I’m in.
Nothing wrong with the basic thermostats in my view, all you need is to preset the temperature control. Having control of your heating via a mobile app is for the birds.
Nest…birds…very good. You didn’t mean that did you?
It’s more than just using a mobile app. I rarely use the app unless I am coming home earlier than planned or after vacation. It learns the house patterns and heats/cools as needed. No one at home, it doesn’t heat. It learns how long it will take to heat the house based on outside temp and kicks in in time for the house to be warm when you get home. Mine manages ac and heating and we reduced our heating and cooling costs by 30%
Still has a long way to go before it is a ‘must have’.
Irish tech startup Energy Elephant allows you to upload your energy bills and see exactly how much a Nest has saved you.
It even adjusts for outdoor temperatures to make sure if the year is warmer the savings are adjusted. Pretty smart technology.
They also have an App coming to allow you just take a photo of your meter and it submits the readings. Quick and easy.
I enquired about it with electric Ireland and was told you’d lose your 28% duel fuel d/d allowance for 2 years I ask them what kind of savings were to be had and low and behold they couldn’t tell me they have no figures so there’s no incentive to buy as one commenter said 30% where’s the figures to back this up electric Ireland weren’t able to provide them and they sell them!
Actually more than one person can control the nest. We find it excellent. Never come home to a cold house now and so easy to adjust the temperature without moving from the sofa!!
I believe Electric Ireland have a special on the NEST right now.
I bought mine in Amazon. You will need wifi at home if you want to remotely control it
If you have a turf/coal stove feeding a thermal store/buffer tank, then yes the Nest or similar can control your heating as the heated buffer is the source. You’d have to have already filled the stove and burned the coal though, its not going to shovel it into the stove for you.
That’s nothing. I once ordered one of these systems on my phone, and lo and behold, eight-and-a-half months later, An Post delivered it. To a house that looked a bit like mine in another part of the country admittedly, but sure, it’s all a bit of craic.
have your say