NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...
NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...
NYT-1201: STATE OF THE ART A Thermostat That's Clever, Not ...
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the Nest’s own screen shows you a lot more about<br />
what’s going on with your thermostat than the Web<br />
site or the phone apps. For example, the Web and t<br />
he app don’t show you when Auto Away kicked in or<br />
when you manually adjusted your thermostats. (The<br />
company says it will remedy that situation soon.)<br />
The Web site is beautiful, but programming your Ne<br />
sts using its Schedule tab is clumsy and tedious.<br />
It takes too many unnecessary clicks to introduce<br />
a change in the schedule.<br />
I found some bugs, too. For example, if you have m<br />
ultiple Nests, just coming back home doesn’t disen<br />
gage the Auto Away mode automatically; you have to<br />
click each thermostat’s screen within two minutes<br />
. (Bizarre.)<br />
Fortunately, software is fixable.<br />
Goodness knows there are cheaper thermostats. And<br />
there are other learning thermostats with color sc<br />
reens and Internet connections. But they don’t hav<br />
e the sensors that let them self-adjust. They don’<br />
t look like pieces of art. They’re sold and packag<br />
ed for contractors, not humans.<br />
And they actually cost more: for example, similar<br />
models of the Honeywell Prestige and Ecobee Smart<br />
<strong>Thermostat</strong> go for more than $300 on Amazon.com. (C<br />
an you imagine what the arrival of the Nest and it<br />
s team of former Apple superstars must be doing to<br />
morale at those companies? The Friday beer blasts<br />
must be a bummer these days.)<br />
The Nest is gorgeous, elegant and very, very smart<br />
. It will keep your house at the right temperature<br />
, save you money and do some good for the planet.<br />
Put another way, it can make you comfortable in mo<br />
re ways than one.<br />
E-mail:pogue@nytimes.com