Google Nest Smart Thermostats

The reasons people love their smart thermostats center around saving money, safety, comfort and convenience, and did we mention saving money? Smart thermostats like the Nest Thermostat E and the Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd generation) can lower your bills by regulating your energy consumption, keeping you comfortable when you’re at home, and turning itself down when you’re away. Sensors and algorithms keep track of your schedule to match your heating and cooling needs, plus you can control the temperature from anywhere with your smartphone. This means more comfort and efficiency, similar to the benefits of smart LED bulbs.

Your first consideration is whether a Nest Learning Thermostat or a Nest Thermostat E will best solve your needs. Both offer convenient, secure and reliable Wi-Fi capabilities, let you control the temperature from anywhere, and promote energy conservation when you’re away. Both the Nest Thermostat E and Nest Learning Thermostat let you review your energy history and usage with real-time reports. Plus, both models allow scheduling and “learn” as you use them.

Differences center on style and one special feature: the Nest Thermostat E has a frosted display that blends into your home decor, while the Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd generation) is sleek and thin with a stainless steel ring. Additionally, the Nest Learning Thermostat offers you Farsight, a feature which uses a built-in far-field sensor to “wake up” the thermostat when it detects your presence. It reveals a high-resolution color display to tell you temperature, target temperature, time or weather and forecast at a glance.

One final consideration is compatibility. The Nest Thermostat E is compatible with most 24V, single-stage heating/cooling systems, including gas, electric, forced air, heat pump, radiant, oil, hot water, solar and geothermal. The Nest Learning Thermostat is compatible with 95% of all 24V heating and cooling systems, including 1-, 2- and 3-stage heating, 1- and 2-stage cooling, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, fans, and heat pumps with auxiliary and emergency heat.

Once integrated, the systems automatically communicate to keep your home as connected as possible. You can also use voice control with a voice assistant from Google or Amazon Alexa to tell your Nest Thermostat to raise or lower the heat. The Nest security camera uses similar voice technology when you want to stream videos or watch the live security video from your indoor/outdoor cameras. Finally, according to Nest, installing your new smart thermostat is easy, depending on the heating/cooling system you have (some systems have complicated wiring and setups). But always know that Geek Squad® is ready to help you with your Nest Thermostat installation as well as integration with your other Nest systems.