Nest – A Thermostat for the 21st Century

NOVEMBER 1, 2011 
BY JULIE @THE GADGETEER

Only in the last year did I finally replace my older than dirt mercury switch type thermostat with a programmable model. Although I've enjoyed the convenience of having the heat automatically come on in the morning before I wake up and then not come on while no one is home during the day, changing the program times is a big pain in the you-know-what. Doing so consists of pressing and holding a button till the info on the tiny LCD blinks. Then more button pressing is required to cycle through the days of the week, program times, etc. It takes a minute or two just to change the temp for a specific day and time. The Nest Thermostat looks like a much more elegant solution. It has a ring (sort of like an old style thermostat) that you rotate to adjust the temperature. After a few days of adjusting the temp, Nest learns to program itself to keep you at a comfortable temperature while also conserving electricity. At $249, the price is considerably more than other programmable thermostats, but if it works as well as it looks, I'd definitely like to give one a try in my house.