We recently replaced our conventional thermostats with supposedly modern programmable ones, and I was shocked at how antiquated they are. They look (and work) like something that was cobbled together on a Friday afternoon by an intern on a hangover. Programming them is difficult, and they manage to be crude and excessively complex at the same time.
Enter the “Nest“, brought to you by a guy that helped design the iPod. It seems like an unlikely thing to rethink and redesign, but it can not only save every homeowner or landlord a bundle, it also reduces power consumption. Oh, and you don’t need to spend hours programming it. It has wi-fi and motion sensors, and learns how to maximize its efficiency based on your living habits. It knows where you are in the house (your Nests are all interconnected wirelessly), when you leave for work in the morning and when you get back after your weekly poker night and adjusts ambient temperature accordingly. It’s also quite pretty, looking like the offspring of a tin of mints and an iPhone 3G.
The only downside is its price, a rather hefty $250, compared to the $25-40 of a typical programmable thermostat. A typical Atlantic Canadian house probably has a half dozen, and dropping $1500 on thermostats is a bit much, even if they would eventually pay for themselves through lower power bills. However, this is really the first product of its kind, and I can only hope that other manufacturers will offer something similar and drive down the price. It’s a product that we can feel good about wanting in our homes.