Connects to Wi-Fi Programming just doesnt work. Alerts and reminders With the Nest app, your thermostat is on your phone. Before you purchase your Nest, make sure that your heating and cooling system(s) are compatible using Nest's [**compatibility checker. Consumer Reports has full test results for the Google Nest Thermostat and more than 80 other thermostats. So despite their claims, most programmed thermostats stay at the same temperature all day. And a whole new way: itlearns. A C-wire (common wire) is a low voltage power wire that many modern thermostats require for their features to work. This can actually be appealing for some peoplenot everyone wants their thermostat to adjust temperature settings for them, and there is plenty of convenience to be had in a thermostat that you can control from anywhere with just a few taps on your smartphone. Heres what we found: The Google Nest Thermostat is very easy to manually operate and control, but it doesnt offer a ton of smart features compared with other smart thermostats and it lacks the ability to learn your behaviors and routines. All the numbers are in our white paper. It adjusts the temperature foryou. Nest has a built-in battery that can be charged using the heating and cooling wires. ### Before You Buy: Check if Your Equipment is Compatible Its annoying and complicated most people dont even bother. Just turn it up and down for the first few days.

But its a drop in the bucket compared to what a thermostat can do. In February 2017, the Nest Learning Thermostat became the first thermostat to get ENERGY STAR certified by the EPA. Because the Nest Learning Thermostat learns how and when to keep you comfortable, it knows how and when to save energy. Then we watched the data roll in from two independent studies from real homes with real families and real Learning thermostats. Use it like a regular thermostat for a week. Programming was easy, too, though the app lacked a way to copy a days schedule from one day to another. We also account for machine learning and automation features, which allow smart thermostats to adjust temperatures as they learn your habits and routines; as well as voice control with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit/Siri, and Google Home/Assistant, if those integrations are available.

Farsight Twitter (@danwroc). Programmable thermostats claim savings on your energy bill. Learnmore>. Why should you have to figure out your thermostat? But once the cumbersome task of recreating the schedule for each day of the week is done, the thermostat is quite easy to adjust and tweak from the Google Home app. We respect your privacy. For Nests kWh ticker, we calculate the current savings estimate from the total savings estimate at the end of the prior month, and increase that number going forward using the average rate of savings from the same month of last year (adjusting that rate downward by 25% to beconservative). 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. download the energy savings research in PDF format. Best of all, at $130, the Google Nest Thermostat is one of the more affordable smart thermostats on the market. "title": "Get Up and Running: How to Install", Yes, Water Sense: Like on hot summer days when everyones running the AC at the sametime. So youre not heating or cooling an emptyhome. How drafty is it? Facebook and

That explains its low ranking in CRs tests: It performs poorly in our automation test, which looks at how well the thermostat makes changes on its own. Its also better suited to those who want light automation features, such as sensing when you leave and return home, as opposed to trying to learn and anticipate your behavior (some feel learning thermostats tend to get it wrong, requiring more manual adjusting on the part of the user). It will get to know the temperatures you like and when you like them. They make you punch in every temperature change you want throughout the day, and usually you can only program 2 or 3 changes. Putting in new light bulbs. **](https://store.google.com/us/widget/compatibility/thermostat?hl=en-US&GoogleNest{openNewTab}) All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story. Based on typical energy costs, weve estimated average savings of $131 to $145 a year. "icon": "install", When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. Unplugging everything when you leave. **This thermostat is not compatible with electric baseboard heating systems. I'm obsessed with smart home tech and channel my obsession into new stories for Consumer Reports.

"description": "For more help installing:\n\n**[View Google Nest Learning installation guide](https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9274936?hl=en{openNewTab})**\n\nCall Google Nest Customer Support at 1-855-469-6378" Safe Summer Activities for Kids During the Pandemic, What You Need to Know About Bug Spray for Kids, Best Cooling Mattress Toppers From Consumer Reports' Tests, Matter smart home interoperability standard, test results for the Google Nest Thermostat and more than 80 other thermostats. false, Media Feature Markdown: And its wastingenergy. How long does it take to heat up or cool down? Location-based triggers The results were clear: on average the Nest Learning Thermostat saved 10% to 12% on heating and 15% on cooling. But they cant prove it.

The thermostats presence-sensing feature also worked as advertised, but it took up to an hour for the thermostat to realize we were no longer home, which seemed a bit too long. Each smart thermostat that enters Consumer Reports labs undergoes stringent tests to determine how easy it to use and how well it automates your heating and cooling.

We've seen Nest users save 5-10% with their newschedules. Thats how it gets to know yourschedule. Flexible scheduling We also happened to evaluate the thermostat in a home with Google Nest Protect smoke/CO detectors and discovered that the thermostat uses not only its own motion sensor, but also the motion sensors in other Nest products to more accurately determine whether someone was home. All these test results are then folded into our comprehensive smart thermostat ratings. **](https://store.google.com/us/widget/compatibility/thermostat?hl=en-US&GoogleNest{openNewTab}) None, Show PDP Info Banner in Product Details: Provides energy usage report Color display We ran the Google Nest Thermostat through CRs lab tests and used it in real-world situations at home. Energy savings are an estimate, not a guarantee that any individual user will saveenergy. This Nest Learning Thermostat does *not require* a C-wire to work. The Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E learn from you. Efficient appliances. The Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E fine-tune your schedule as the seasons change to help you save. You can earn rewards from your energy company by using less energy when everyone else is using more. $131 to $145 estimated average savings peryear. To prove it, we looked at the energy bills of real people in 41 states before and after they got Nest Learning Thermostats. If you find a smart thermostats attempts at 'learning' your routine overbearing, then this convenient option may be just smart enough. Many older homes dont have a C-wire because mercury and battery-powered thermostats didnt require one. Our engineers factor in smart features like alerts, app control, and geofencing (where the thermostat tracks your phones location to know whether youre home). When I'm not writing about products, I spend time either outside hiking and skiing or up in the air in small airplanes. Thats not the only study to show Nests energy savings are real. The Google Home apps step-by-step guidance made it easy, and the thermostat even worked without a C-wire, or common wire, a typical requirement for other smart thermostats to provide a continuous supply of power. Nest Sense helps your homes system work moreefficiently. Learn more. Check out what we learned about Seasonal Savings and Rush Hour Rewards, two programs offered by our energypartners. Adjust the temperature fromanywhere. Their rigorous testing confirmed what weve been saying all along the Nest Learning Thermostat savesenergy. We installed it fairly easily in a renovated 1950s house with a forced-air HVAC system. Google Nest. false, PDP Info Banner Theme: It saves energy, sure. Plus, the Google Nest Thermostat can still do some basic automating, using your phones location and the thermostats motion sensor to figure out when you leave and return home. Nest, however, recommends that you connect a C-wire if you already have one. And that wastes energy. No, Media Feature: Yes, On Sale: Maybe its 72 at 6 a.m. Or 66 when you go to bed. Then it programs itself and creates a schedule for you. true, C-wire required: It even learns from your home and figures out how it heats or cools, because no two homes are exactly thesame. These energy savings are calculated based on the typical percentage of heating and cooling savings found in real-world studies of the Nest Learning Thermostat (download the energy savings research in PDF format). The budget-friendly Energy Star-certified Google Nest Thermostat is polished and pretty, but it isnt a true smart thermostat, at least not like its older sibling, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, which attempts to learn your preferences and routine and creates a heating and cooling schedule for you. For my latest obsessions, follow me on Vacation mode, Brand: To calculate the total savings, we apply these savings percentages to the actual heating and cooling hours of all Nest Thermostat E and Nest LearningThermostats. So Nest found a better way. { To determine if you have a C-wire, please consult Nests [**compatibility checker. No, Features: That means the Nest Learning Thermostat paid for itself in under twoyears. These criteria factor into our unique Smart IQ and automation scores for smart thermostats. It explains in detail how we did our internal studies and what independent researchers foundout. Finally, we favor models that are easy to set up wirelessly and simple to operate manually. ### What's a C-Wire? The newer Google Nest is essentially a WiFi-enabled programmable thermostat, requiring you to program it when you initially set it up. Energy Star: Your thermostat controls half your energy bill. **, Media Feature Disclaimer (JSON): Which Brands Make the Most Reliable Appliances? But at home, we didnt mind that so much. }, Top Seller: Nests kilowatt-hours (kWh) ticker features an estimate of how many kilowatt-hours all Nest Learning Thermostats have saved to date, since October2011. When you leave your house, it turns itself down. The Google Nest Thermostat is a great option if you want the convenience of a WiFi-enabled thermostat without a high price tag. dHKD-9uI24I, Show PDP Info Banner in Media Feature: