It’s true, a $250 thermostat that has it’s own Android and iPhone app! At first glance that sounds absolutely nutty but when you factor in the this app-o-stat could save you hundreds of dollars on your utility bill then this begins to sound partially reasonable.
I’d buy it because I love programming gadgets and admittedly my own programmable thermostat is boring. I pulled a Ron PoPiel with mine: set it and forgot it! My wife overrode my settings because, according to her, I never got it right. I just didn’t want to heat a house we weren’t in, or at all most days… and she was cold!
This thermo-app claims to be programmed just by using over time and makes behavioural predictions based on previous use. Well that’s just awesome! Imagine a cold house never being my fault again! That’s worth something but $250?
The last idea that won me over was a seemingly unrelated Ignite talk by Treffyn Koreshoff about The Internet of Things. While the promotional material and presenation of the Nest Themostat was certainly appealing it was his talk that began convince me that this was something that would likely be worth investing in.
By inter connecting devices like thermostats and smart phones we begin to automate and generate meaningful communication between things. I’ve got to say – that felt dumb to write since were talking about the value of two machines talking but the result is what I take away. Reduced heating costs to me over time and in the long run reduced resource consumption.
I think this kind of technology will become common place in the home and office. Over time I think we’ll move from asking “why would you get this” to “whay didn’t you get one of those a long time ago?!”
Learn more at: Nest.com.
