4 ms·

Nest was acquired for $3.2 billion. The thermostat measures home activity and controls your HVAC. The reason it's highly valued is because of the aggregate of d

Nest was acquired for $3.2 billion. The thermostat measures home activity and controls your HVAC. The reason it's highly valued is because of the aggregate of data from all thermostats, which they use to optimize the environment for each customer. Nest is the beginning of home automation for the masses, a market easily greater than $10B.

exelius 12y ago
A/C is one of the few use cases where there is a need that was addressed. A/C accounts for the vast majority of energy usage in most homes, so optimizing it can provide real cost reduction. It's also really easy to install since there was already a single control point for the A/C in the form of a thermostat. Just look at Nest Protect if you want an example of an IoT product without a customer need; they add cost and complexity without any real benefit over normal smoke/CO2 detectors. A need for A/C optimization doesn't extend to there being a need for IoT/home automation as a whole. What benefit exists for a "smart" house? Drastic energy reduction can be achieved through simple use of CFL/LED light bulbs; they don't need to be Wi-Fi connected. What else would you even want automated in your house? EDIT: Also, my original point stands: Nest is not a hockey-stick business. They get revenue when a customer buys a product, yet their platform has to support all of the thermostats they've ever sold.
- clarky07 12y ago
  This comes off as the famous (apocryphal) patent quote from around 1900. "Everything that can be invented has been invented" I think a lot of people (myself included) think there are lots of potential benefits to a smart house. I don't think we're there yet. Most of what exists now isn't very user friendly, and most don't have easy setups so the things that are out now are unlikely to have huge hockey stick growth. However, that doesn't mean their are no benefits, and it doesn't mean the industry as a whole won't see large growth in the future. Google and Apple are both investing somewhat heavily in the area, along with a huge host of startups. Clearly there are people who think there are possibilities in the space. As a small list of examples for myself: 1. nest is obvious 2. locks are key feature for me. if i can have my door unlock when i get to it with my phone or watch or whatever that is a win. 2.b. remotely unlocking things could also be nice, if i'm meeting someone and they get there just ahead of me. Alternately giving friends temporary access if they are staying for a weekend. 3. garage doors, see 2 and 2b. 4. remote control blinds (perhaps a bit more than is necessary, but i could see it being nice in my bedroom 5. lights, having them come on in the room i'm coming into with my auto-unlocking door, so i don't have to fumble with them when my hands are full of groceries. without trying, off the top of my head i came up with 5 things i'd like to have in the next house i build. I suspect Apple and Google and the startups working the area for a few years might come up with 1 or two more that turn out to be really awesome.
  - exelius 12y ago
    It's not that there are no benefits, but there's not a driving need that these products you describe solve that makes up for the additional cost and complexity that implementing them provides. What's the value proposition? If it's "just cool", then there probably isn't one. 1) There are real benefits with Nest since it can reduce energy consumption. Also, Nest isn't really a whole lot more expensive than other thermostats, and there's very little additional complexity. 2) There are lots of problems with locks: you're taking a $15 item, adding some wireless gear and servos to it, and adding significant installation cost and complexity (since you have to somehow power the thing). The alternative is you spend a few bucks getting keys cut to give your friends temporary access. Also there are security concerns here. 3) This one is pretty low effort (since there is already a lot of radio equipment in a garage door opener) but also pretty low benefit: 90% of the time you open the garage door you're in your car, where the opener is within easy reach. I don't think the value of this feature is very high. 4) They have these today. Less useful than you might think, and like anything mechanical, they break. Also, since blinds are typically not powered, this adds cost and complexity since you have to run electricity to your windows. These are a niche product in my mind; if you couldn't justify them 10 years ago, you won't when they're connected to an IoT platform either. 5) While cool, it's still hard to justify the additional cost and complexity. There's not really a driving need other than "oh that's cool". Until the cost comes down significantly, it's still a niche product for people who want to geek out their home. At today's prices, you're looking at $40 for a single light switch compared to $5 for a non-connected switch, plus you have to configure it to do what you want. I'm all for building cool new products, but consumers want products that reduce cost and complexity, not ones that increase them.
    - Spooky23 12y ago
      The other thing about #5 is that you can use a $15 motion switch and skip all of the drama of networking, etc.
    - knz 12y ago
      Re automated lights and the garage door. I have a SmartThings hub and a number of associated motion sensors and z-wave power outlets. I also have young kids so am often up at odd hours. Being able to automate turning on and off certain lights based upon motion is fantastic when you are stumbling around a house half asleep. I've also got my garage door hooked up to it and love being able to let someone in if I am not home or not having to take keys if I go out for a bike ride or walk. Yes there is a cost and configuration can be a hassle, but there is benefit beyond being "cool". My next project is connecting OpenSprinkler to the external z-wave motion sensors to deal with deer raiding a vegetable garden and kids trying to get into a hot tub....
- justicezyx 12y ago
  The typical xxx is one of the few yyy reasoning... Startups are unicorns, dont pretend there is a ruling theory...
rasz_pl 12y ago
Nest is so great it simply CANT BE HUSHED!

exelius 12y ago

A/C is one of the few use cases where there is a need that was addressed. A/C accounts for the vast majority of energy usage in most homes, so optimizing it can provide real cost reduction. It's also really easy to install since there was already a single control point for the A/C in the form of a thermostat. Just look at Nest Protect if you want an example of an IoT product without a customer need; they add cost and complexity without any real benefit over normal smoke/CO2 detectors. A need for A/C optimization doesn't extend to there being a need for IoT/home automation as a whole. What benefit exists for a "smart" house? Drastic energy reduction can be achieved through simple use of CFL/LED light bulbs; they don't need to be Wi-Fi connected. What else would you even want automated in your house? EDIT: Also, my original point stands: Nest is not a hockey-stick business. They get revenue when a customer buys a product, yet their platform has to support all of the thermostats they've ever sold.

clarky07 12y ago
This comes off as the famous (apocryphal) patent quote from around 1900. "Everything that can be invented has been invented" I think a lot of people (myself included) think there are lots of potential benefits to a smart house. I don't think we're there yet. Most of what exists now isn't very user friendly, and most don't have easy setups so the things that are out now are unlikely to have huge hockey stick growth. However, that doesn't mean their are no benefits, and it doesn't mean the industry as a whole won't see large growth in the future. Google and Apple are both investing somewhat heavily in the area, along with a huge host of startups. Clearly there are people who think there are possibilities in the space. As a small list of examples for myself: 1. nest is obvious 2. locks are key feature for me. if i can have my door unlock when i get to it with my phone or watch or whatever that is a win. 2.b. remotely unlocking things could also be nice, if i'm meeting someone and they get there just ahead of me. Alternately giving friends temporary access if they are staying for a weekend. 3. garage doors, see 2 and 2b. 4. remote control blinds (perhaps a bit more than is necessary, but i could see it being nice in my bedroom 5. lights, having them come on in the room i'm coming into with my auto-unlocking door, so i don't have to fumble with them when my hands are full of groceries. without trying, off the top of my head i came up with 5 things i'd like to have in the next house i build. I suspect Apple and Google and the startups working the area for a few years might come up with 1 or two more that turn out to be really awesome.
- exelius 12y ago
  It's not that there are no benefits, but there's not a driving need that these products you describe solve that makes up for the additional cost and complexity that implementing them provides. What's the value proposition? If it's "just cool", then there probably isn't one. 1) There are real benefits with Nest since it can reduce energy consumption. Also, Nest isn't really a whole lot more expensive than other thermostats, and there's very little additional complexity. 2) There are lots of problems with locks: you're taking a $15 item, adding some wireless gear and servos to it, and adding significant installation cost and complexity (since you have to somehow power the thing). The alternative is you spend a few bucks getting keys cut to give your friends temporary access. Also there are security concerns here. 3) This one is pretty low effort (since there is already a lot of radio equipment in a garage door opener) but also pretty low benefit: 90% of the time you open the garage door you're in your car, where the opener is within easy reach. I don't think the value of this feature is very high. 4) They have these today. Less useful than you might think, and like anything mechanical, they break. Also, since blinds are typically not powered, this adds cost and complexity since you have to run electricity to your windows. These are a niche product in my mind; if you couldn't justify them 10 years ago, you won't when they're connected to an IoT platform either. 5) While cool, it's still hard to justify the additional cost and complexity. There's not really a driving need other than "oh that's cool". Until the cost comes down significantly, it's still a niche product for people who want to geek out their home. At today's prices, you're looking at $40 for a single light switch compared to $5 for a non-connected switch, plus you have to configure it to do what you want. I'm all for building cool new products, but consumers want products that reduce cost and complexity, not ones that increase them.
  - Spooky23 12y ago
    The other thing about #5 is that you can use a $15 motion switch and skip all of the drama of networking, etc.
  - knz 12y ago
    Re automated lights and the garage door. I have a SmartThings hub and a number of associated motion sensors and z-wave power outlets. I also have young kids so am often up at odd hours. Being able to automate turning on and off certain lights based upon motion is fantastic when you are stumbling around a house half asleep. I've also got my garage door hooked up to it and love being able to let someone in if I am not home or not having to take keys if I go out for a bike ride or walk. Yes there is a cost and configuration can be a hassle, but there is benefit beyond being "cool". My next project is connecting OpenSprinkler to the external z-wave motion sensors to deal with deer raiding a vegetable garden and kids trying to get into a hot tub....
justicezyx 12y ago
The typical xxx is one of the few yyy reasoning... Startups are unicorns, dont pretend there is a ruling theory...

rasz_pl 12y ago

Nest is so great it simply CANT BE HUSHED!