OT *** Nest Thermostat

Haven't heard of a nest thermostat, but try using your web browser to find it. Type in big green egg + nest thermostat. Using your web browser often gets more hits than the forums search function. 

Have the nest and love it. Not sure about it as a money saving device, but it is nice to be 2 hours away from home and be able to turn the AC up and have the house cool upon arrival. As far as painting after removal of your old thermostat, it comes with several optional cover plates. I also use the nest protect smoke/c02 detector and a dropcam ( which was bought by Google and integrated into the Nest line). Between the devices I find it convenient to be able to check the status of my house from anywhere I might be. I only dislike that it is a Google ecosystem but it suits my needs. Wait a bit and see what comes out once Apple fleshes out there Homekit line of connected devices.

I have two of the nest thermostats--I was able to use the rebates from Georgia power and get $100 back for each one. 

I like The nest but I really wish it had a hold temp feature. Seems like a basic feature that's simply missing. For the price I paid--I like them. For $250 I wouldn't buy them. 

Love our Nest, does a great job of learning and constantly tweaking the temperature 

I have a few nests....all gen1 and pretty much since their initial release.  No issues at all including a free service call to hook up my common wire for one of my units.  Easy to use and program and the money usage reports are very nice.  Learning feature is a novelty as I found very little value in it other than helping me set my schedule.  I have learning off now now.  On the other hand, the autoaway feature is invaluable.  Really awesome how it learned our work schedule and goes into autoaway in about 15mins from us leaving vs the initial 2 hour quiet period.  The other thing I really like are the updates.  Nest has been releasing enhancements at least twice a year and I have new features that I found useful and I think help save me money.  Last, Nest knows the difference between my heat pumps and my gas pack and adjusts operations according to run each unit efficiently.  For example, my Nest doesn't let my heat pump upstairs have the wide temp swings when away because it would have to work too hard to get to temp and waste all my savings.   This is not the case with my gas pack downstairs which can have much larger temp swings and save us money.  Very nice.  I'm not speaking badly about any other devices but only pointing out my positive experiences with Nest.   Highly recommend it. 

Oh yea, the Nest comes with an optional installation plate that you can paint or not to cover up your wall and hide anything that might show from your old unit.  

UKMatt said:

I have an extra v1 Nest if you want a low cost trial - would sell for cheap...

I'm interested!

I've had my V2 nest for a few years now, and I love it!  I can use the auto away feature to check and see if anyone is home.  Nothing beats being in bed on a warm summer night, feeling too warm, and turning down the thermostat while still in bed!

texaswig said:

I need to buy some kind of smart home/browser thermostat. I really don't need a learning one like a nest. Our schedule is to crazy for one. 

Maybe your thermostat can figure it out?

I just did the infinite energy deal, I got the Gen 3 Nest and locked in a rate of .47/therm for 2 years... lately I've seen the prices increase to .48-.50, so I think thats a good deal.  Easy to install, came with a cover plate so that you don't have to paint!  Its cut TONS of money off my power bill, and its great to adjust the temp on the way home or in the middle of the night when you're hot/cold and don't want to get out of bed!

you guys down south crack me up. my basement is set for 42 and the house is set for 48 and there is no ac you either build a fire when its cold or freeze

theyolksonyou said:

@fishlessman it's hard to sleep in a puddle...

was up at a friends camp once, laid out the sleeping bag out on the porch day bed, woke up around 2 and the ice on the day bed had broken through, you dont want to wake up in a puddle

MelSharples said:

@fishlessman if the Winchester 1873 won the West, the advent of central a/c won the South. I have no idea how my ancestors got any sleep from May through September between the heat and the humidity, not to mention the gnats.

dont know how you can deal with heat. 2 heat waves this year, a heat wave is 3 days over 90 somehow that happened twice

We have Infinite Energy, and they are doing a program where you sign up for their flat rate for 24 months, and they give you a Nest Thermostat (Gen3).  Turns out that our plan we had with them was more expensive than the one they require for the Nest, so we got a reduced rate and a free thermostat (although we had to buy out our current contract with them for about $67).

So, we basically got a Nest for $67, along with a reduced rate.  If the thermostat ends up saving us energy, then it's a big fat win all the way around.

Eric "GuitarEC"
Metro Atl., Ga.