How Nest Can Turn Your House into a Smart Home

If you’ve heard of home automation, you’ve probably also heard of Nest. Nest is one of the pioneers in the smart home revolution. Its mission is “creating the thoughtful home: a home that takes care of the people inside it and the world around it.”¹

In order to fulfill that mission, Nest created a line of home safety, security, and energy solutions. According to the company, its products—like the Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Cams, and Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm—are used in millions of homes in more than 190 countries.²

Nest products use intuitive, innovative technology to improve home safety and energy efficiency. Nest smart home devices are known for their simple, beautiful designs and cutting-edge features that solve common problems in unexpected ways. Here’s a look at how Nest products can help turn a regular house into a smart home.

Since its release, the Nest Learning Thermostat has helped users save nearly eight billion kWh of energy. In addition to lower utility bills, users love the ease of installation and the convenience of controlling everything from an app.

Another favorite feature is the attractive design. The thermostat comes in a variety of finishes like copper, stainless steel, black, and white, to complement nearly any home decor. For homeowners who want more design options, accessories like Wasserstein’s Stainless Steel Wall Plate Cover add extra style.

Even though Amazon shows a 4.6-star rating for the Nest Learning Thermostat, there are a few things users complain about. The Farsight feature, which prompts the thermostat to light up and display the current temperature and local weather whenever someone enters a room, was criticized a lot at first. Customers didn’t like that it displayed only the set temperature and not the actual room temperature. To its credit, Nest paid attention to customer feedback and enhanced this feature.

Price can be another point of contention. At around $250, the Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the more expensive thermostats. However, more than 10,000 Amazon reviews indicate that customers are largely satisfied with the results, and many say that this thermostat more than pays for itself in energy savings.

The only consistent complaint about the Nest Cam is the required Nest Aware subscription. Users who want recorded playback and Cloud video storage must pay $10–$30 per month for the subscription. Without it, the Nest Cam offers 24/7 live video streaming, but it doesn’t allow for playback and review beyond the most recent three hours.

Many Amazon reviewers also note a banner ad and other high-pressure tactics to encourage signing up for the subscription. For users who hoped their $200 investment would be all they needed to spend for smart video surveillance, the Nest Aware subscription is a sore spot.

There may be only about 200 critical reviews out of over 4,000, but some Amazon reviewers found glitches with the silencing feature. More than one customer reported an inability to silence the Nest Protect if it detects too much smoke. Others disliked that changing their home Wi-Fi network required manually updating every alarm in their home. A few users also reported some device failures after three or four years.

Nest Protect also costs more than the average smoke or carbon monoxide detector, starting at about $100. While many find the convenience and smart device features worth the money, those who experienced issues were frustrated with the price.

One of the most progressive things about the Nest family of products is their interconnectivity. All Nest products work with each other and a number of other smart home devices. With the right combination of smart home devices, you could wake up each morning to gentle lighting, the perfect temperature, and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee.

Nest products can work with smart locks, smart lightbulbs, and other smart devices and appliances. Nest has become such a leader in the home automation market that several smart home devices are sold with a special logo that lets consumers know they’re compatible with Nest. This logo program is called Works with Nest and is the cheat sheet you need to turn your Nest Thermostat or Nest Cam into an entire home automation network.

If you’re ready to save money, increase your home’s safety, and get your smart home started, Nest is a great place to begin. Which Nest product are you most excited to try out?

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• Nest Thermostat Review