The world's first learning thermostat was introduced earlier today. It's called the Nest, and is one of the most fascinating green products to enter the market. It has a cool (no pun intended) design. The promotional video may remind you a little of Apple commercials. That could because the designer of the iPod is one of Nest's developers.
It's as easy to install as a light fixture. Once Nest is on the wall in place of your old thermostat, simply answer a few basic questions like your zip code, then go about your normal routine. Change the temp when you go to bed, when you wake up, when you leave the house. After a week, Nest has learned your routine and begins adjusting the temp for you.
Energy saving features like Auto-Away and Energy History will become available as Nest learns your energy saving techniques. The Nest Leaf appears to show you when you are saving. Eventually Nest will even begin making recommendations. Changing the temperature just 1 degree can cut your usage by 5%. If you don't like the schedule Nest has learned, it only takes a couple of days to re-train it.
Nest uses 150 degree wide angle activity sensors to know when you've left home. After sensing no activity for about two hours, Nest will adjust the thermostat. It has two basic settings: blue for cooling and orange for heating.
When connected to your home Wi-Fi, you can access your Nest unit(s) from you computer or mobile device to make changes or view your usage and savings reports. That same Wi-Fi connection enables Nest to keep an eye on current weather conditions and forecasts to make needed adjustment.
Nest was developed because 10% of all U.S. energy is controlled by thermostats - the equivalent of 1.7 billion barrels of oil per year. The estimated 12 month savings per household from using Nest is $173.
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