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In some cases, a Nest may not be a good investment. However, my home was built in the late 1970s where energy efficiency was not in the builders lexicon. I lite

by S_A_P 12y ago

In some cases, a Nest may not be a good investment. However, my home was built in the late 1970s where energy efficiency was not in the builders lexicon. I literally cut my electric bill by 50% with the nest vs the dial based thermostat that was included in the house. This paid for both of my nests in 2 months.(upstairs and down). Since then, I have saved that amount consistently all summer. Now I live in Houston, so saving AC as much as possible is a huge boon for me. However, when its cold, I notice little to zero benefit from the nest. Keeping my house warm takes significantly more energy than keeping it cool(our AC units are relatively new and efficient, as is the furnace. However, the hot air just leaks right out of the ceilings into the air... So IMO, there are cases where a Nest is worth it, and will pay for itself. ymmv though.

minikites 12y ago
But the Nest isn't competing with a dial thermostat, it's competing with a $20 programmable thermostat which will save you the same amount of money for 1/10th the cost.
- FireBeyond 12y ago
  That's a bit of a simplification. Things the Nest can do that a $20 programmable can't: - use the thermostat, and the Protects, as occupancy sensors and do auto-away when it determines no-one is in the house - have a 'never below' temperature to prevent freezing of pipes, even if everything else says the heating should be off - learn about cooling and heating rates so that if I say I want the house to be 68F at 0600, it knows when to switch on based on what temperature the house cooled to the night before.
- S_A_P 12y ago
  I disagree- most of my savings come from the ability to a) shut off when we leave the house. You can program a thermostat to your work schedule and weekend schedule, but ours varies by enough that I would never be diligent enough to keep up with it(and I shouldnt have to be) b) take in consideration the external temperature and the properties of my house to know when to start cooling it down.

by S_A_P 12y ago

minikites 12y ago

But the Nest isn't competing with a dial thermostat, it's competing with a $20 programmable thermostat which will save you the same amount of money for 1/10th the cost.

FireBeyond 12y ago
That's a bit of a simplification. Things the Nest can do that a $20 programmable can't: - use the thermostat, and the Protects, as occupancy sensors and do auto-away when it determines no-one is in the house - have a 'never below' temperature to prevent freezing of pipes, even if everything else says the heating should be off - learn about cooling and heating rates so that if I say I want the house to be 68F at 0600, it knows when to switch on based on what temperature the house cooled to the night before.
S_A_P 12y ago
I disagree- most of my savings come from the ability to a) shut off when we leave the house. You can program a thermostat to your work schedule and weekend schedule, but ours varies by enough that I would never be diligent enough to keep up with it(and I shouldnt have to be) b) take in consideration the external temperature and the properties of my house to know when to start cooling it down.