> it is hardly revolutionary. When it was released there was nothing like it. It's still the best DIY home thermostat imo. The installation is straight out of

> it is hardly revolutionary. When it was released there was nothing like it. It's still the best DIY home thermostat imo. The installation is straight out of the Apple playbook, little included screwdriver and all. It looks both retro and futuristic. Turning the wheel to set the temperature is such a great interface. Auto-away works really well for me, so being able to crank on the heat/a/c when I'm an hour away is huge. Huge. This sounds lazy, but I like being able to control the upstairs thermostat while I'm comfortably snuggled in watching a movie downstairs. Monthly emailed energy reports help me pay attention without being too intrusive. It's also adapted to our family's usage really well (the "learning" part of the learning thermostat). I love not having to mess with it too much, although I understand that's not a Nest-specific feature. Best of all, there's no monthly fee. I can't get behind Nest Cam because of their fee, but the Thermostat is buy-it-once (...so far). What's so smart about it is that unlike other energy-saving improvements, you can use it in rentals too. My current nest was installed in my last rental, I just saved the old thermostat and took pics of how it was installed so I could put it back. For me, its set-it-and-forget-it factor is massive, and that's what I prefer almost always. Since I'm the resident utility guy, the less I have to dork around with stuff other people use, the better - and Nest filled that role perfectly (incidentally: that's why my family has iphones and macbooks instead of android & windows/linux desktops, why I don't install Tomato on my routers, etc -- not because I think they're intrinsically better, but because I don't have to spend a bunch of time managing them). Anyway, my point is I think the thermostat was revolutionary -- essentially nobody was thinking about residential thermostats before Nest came along. Their smoke detectors on the other hand... don't even get me started.