Everywhere we turn these days there are things that need updating. Some just for aesthetic reasons. Some for functional. Some for both.
Enter our old timey, first floor thermostat in our office. We figured with our new furnace system it’d be a good time to update this to something more energy efficient.
We made the swap to a programmable thermostat in our first house, so this time around the tech geek in me begged Sherry to let us take this upgrade a step further – especially since so many of you have commented about loving your Nest. To my surprise, she agreed. And that’s how I found myself holding one of these babies.
But let me back up for a second. Nest is a “learning thermostat” that keeps a record of your habits (when you turn the heat or AC up, when you’re home or away, etc) and creates and adjusts a schedule for you. Meaning it can be even more intuitive than a typical programmable thermostat – and therefor can save you more money. It can even sense when you’re home (and turn itself down if you’re not). It was designed by people who helped make the iPhone, so it has a bunch of other cool features I’ll get into later. I’ve wanted one since they came out in 2010, but they’ve been priced fairly high. But with the recent release of their 2nd generation thermostat, prices on the 1st generation dropped…
In fact they dropped so much that I had trouble finding them. I finally found some across town at a Lowe’s about 30 minutes away. So I ran over there with a change of address coupon that we received after we moved.
We decided to buy two Nests since we have two systems (one upstairs and one downstairs). So with the reduced sale price, the additional $25 off from my coupon, and the 5% discount that I got for using my Lowe’s credit card (which the cashier was happy to give me despite it not working initially with the coupon) it took our price per unit down to $158. Still a lot for a thermostat, but considering the new ones are $249 it was a we-saved-$180-on-two-of-them victory. And the fact that our downstairs furnace was replaced by our home warranty helped us rationalize spending $300 after we saved around $5,000 on the new furnace.
Update: First generation Nests are now marked down on Amazon, so here’s an affiliate link to the same one we bought for anyone interested.
As for the installation, I’ll admit it had me a little worried. I’d heard that it’s not compatible with all HVAC systems (and our upstairs unit is pretty old) and generally I worried about breaking this expensive little thermom-o-robot in the process.
I started downstairs. The first step was removing the old unit, which was pretty straight forward. First I pulled off the face. Then (with the power turned off at the breaker!) I unscrewed the inner plate so I could reveal all the wiring behind it. Nest kind of thought of everything, so they even included a small screwdriver that made this easier. (PS: Nest isn’t paying me to gush – they don’t even know we bought these – I’m just kind of in love with this thing).
Here’s the inside of our unit. It looks kind of like you’re about to defuse a bomb. But following the installation instructions eliminated just about any fear that this project was going to blow up in my face.
In addition to a handy installation video, they have this cool “Compatibility Check” online that helps guide you through how your wiring works (or doesn’t work) with Nest. Admittedly, I probably should’ve done this before I took so much trouble to buy the darn things…
But good news. We were compatible. And not only that, the instructions included a personalized guide for how I should connect my wires to the Nest unit. Seriously. If only all instruction manuals were this easy.
Also filed under “thought of everything:” the paper manual that came in the box included these wire labels so you wouldn’t risk confusing which red wire went where once everything was removed from the old unit. I didn’t use them since mine were so straight forward, but this still earned points in my tech-nerd handbook.
I detached all of my wires and then removed the last bit of the old unit from the wall.
Then I just slid the Nest base back in its place.
I was also crazy for the fact that there was a tiny little level built into the base so you could be sure it was hanging straight on your wall. Genius.
Then, based on my personalized wiring guide, I just popped my wires back in place using the little tabs. Super easy.
For the grand finale, I snapped the face into place and…
…turned the power back on. There were a few set-up steps to get Nest going, like telling it what type of heating we had and connecting it to our wi-fi. This was perhaps my only gripe with the whole thing – entering in a long alphanumeric password was a bit tedious. #firstworldproblems
The wi-fi is cool because it allows me to access our thermostats from my phone. Nest always touts this as a feature to use when you’re traveling so I didn’t think I’d find much use for it. But on the first night I found myself turning the AC up from bed because it was too hot in our bedroom. Yup. Felt like I was sleeping in my fancypants.
It says it takes a couple of weeks to learn your schedule, so we’ve yet to experience the beauty of that. But I’m especially grateful to have it in this house because we’re already finding that temperatures fluctuate a lot in here thanks to the intense afternoon sun we get. Hope you catch on quick, Nest-dog.
Oh, and part of me worried I’d regret not spending the extra dough to the 2nd generation version, but besides working with more HVAC systems (which isn’t an issue for us, luckily) the differences are apparently mostly cosmetic. The newer version is a little slimmer, doesn’t have the small grill at the bottom, and has a shinier side so it better reflects your wall color. Those all sound like nice-to-haves, but not worth the extra $180. So personally I’m glad we got the units we did. Perhaps I’ll bite my tongue when they release the 3rd generation that babysits your kids and folds your laundry too.
Oh, and before I end this lovefest (lovenest?) I have to share one more anecdote about installing it upstairs, where we had a less ancient thermostat already in place on the wall. I expected it to be the easier install, but when I went through the compatibility check I got this alert. Ruh roh. .
But I followed instructions and in like five minutes I was already getting off of the phone with a Nest representative who had looked at the photo I emailed and described how I should hook up my wires. Brilliant.
So I think overall it took me less than an hour to install both units – which is a miracle for any project where I’m also stopping to take blog photos. I couldn’t be happier.
Well, I could be a smidge happier I guess. Apparently a lot of localities offer rebates to reward Nest owners for making an energy efficient choice (Nest has a list of them here). Our area isn’t doing that yet, so after a few phone calls to our electric company and gas company I struck out at getting any sort of money back. Oh well, at least I’ll get a tiny write off for donating our old units to Habitat for Humanity (along with actually saving money by heating/cooling the house more efficiently).
Anyone else out there have a Nest? Got any tips for me? Or has anyone else made a tech-y upgrade lately? Wait, maybe forget that last question. Sherry probably doesn’t want you guys giving me any more ideas…
Sarah D says
I’ve been planning on asking my landlord to upgrade to a programmable thermostat – I’ve got to do something to save on my heating oil bill. I’m glad to see that installation doesn’t look too tricky!
Derek says
Oh man, so jealous! We have radiant floor heating throughout our main floor, so there’s no programming necessary. It’s awesome, except I don’t get to use cool gadgets like this!
sarah mc. says
Hi – We’ve been debating the Nest for awhile. I’d love to snag a first generation one at Lowes, but I don’t see them on the website. Did you just call around and ask who had them in stock? Is there a SKU # you can share? (I always have more luck when I give someone a number over the phone as opposed to just telling them what the item is.)
Thanks!
PS: I love your cost breakdowns, by the way. Keep ’em coming.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we just called around and said “do you have any more first generation Nests” and so many said “no way!” and then finally one said they did so John ran over. I don’t have a sku, but they knew what we meant when we said First Generation Nest. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Mrs Limestone says
Super timely post. I was just looking for a good wifi thermostat. Thanks for sharing it.
Diana Buchanan says
Ok, so the only thing I can think of when the Nest is mentioned is Matthew McConaughey’s voice. (yes I googled how to spell his name) Does he do the commercials for them there? It might just be a Texas thing, but the commercials are a mix of oogey and Texas drawl so I’ve always dismissed the Nest. I have to say, though, that little gadget looks like something from the Jetson’s, in a good way. What a great upgrade!!
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’s a Texas thing, but I for one, am jealous! Love me some MM.
xo
s
Diana Buchanan says
I think I’m one of few women who don’t melt at the thought of MM. Something about the whole wearing no deodorant thing turns me off!
However, I found the commercial so you can always think of him when you adjust your thermostat. ;)
Meaghan says
We LOVE the NEST!! We had to get a Gen II because we had a heat pump and a furnace. My husband installed it himself and everything worked fine until we got a blast of super-cold temps and the heat pump/furnace wire wasn’t pushed in all they way. Long story short, the heat pump ran too much and our furnace never kicked on leaving us with a very cold house in January. Other than that hiccup, we love it!
We always change the temp on our way home from a weekend away or when we are upstairs in bed but too lazy to truck downstairs to change it. Enjoy it! Supposedly, the best savings come in the summer months!
Megan says
The Nest is at the top of my Christmas list for this year. Being an adult is weird sometimes.
YoungHouseLove says
Amen.
xo
s
Nikki says
These devices do sound so amazing! Our local utilities company was offering installation of free smart thermostats but we had to pass on the offer. Our 18 year old had been quite ill and diagnosed with hypothyroid disease related to the effects of electromagnetic radiation. 3% of the population is highly sensitive to electromagnetic frequencies and will develop adverse health problems. Others develop issues over time. So, for our son, the combo smart phone, smart meter and Wi-Fi is just too much and we are looking at ways to reduce our radiation. Children are especially prone to health problems so those with devices, please be careful about the accumulation of radiation/Wi-Fi in your homes. Anyone who is experiencing vague health issues/headaches, brain fog, etc, might want to look into this evolving problem as we add more advanced electromagnetic technologies into our environment.
Kerry Crofton has written an informative book for anyone interested in reading more on the subject. The title is Wireless Radiation Rescue -2012(Revised & Updated Edition) How To Use Cell Phones More Safely and Other Safer-Tech Solutions. It can be purchased through Amazon.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Nikki!
xo
s
Kelly says
Wow, I had no idea about this! Good to know!
Karen F says
Great post!
The people who designed/engineered this should just design everything. They took something complicated (to me, anyway) and make it not only easy, but nice looking, too!
Eileen says
So cool! Any knowledge about using it with a Heat Pump? We were always told that it’s better to leave the heat on the same temp with heat pump, because if it gets too cool at night, it will kick in the Aux heat to move the temp up in the morning (and that’s like 2.5x more expensive to run). So since we like it cooler at night (in winter), I end up moving the temp up 1 degree at a time in the morning, lol. I wonder if Nest would deal with that better.
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone have a heat pump and a Nest to share their tips/experience with Eileen?
xo
s
Eileen says
I just googled it and it took me straight to the Nest website with ALL sorts of info about heat pumps and the options to avoid kicking off the AUX heat. Wow!
Becca says
Woah, super fancy! My thermostat is the opposite of fancy. It lives in my down-downstairs neighbor’s unit. Ah, radiators….
-Becca
Ladyface Blog
YoungHouseLove says
Oh Becca, I remember those days! Sweltering in a NYC studio – completely at the mercy of someone else who had control of the thermostat.
xo
s
Holley with an E says
Just to add, our Nest has save us over $1500 in the past year off our utility bills, by automatically shutting off when we’re at work. Or shutting if off from our phones when we’re out late or away overnight. It’s paid for itself so many times over!
YoungHouseLove says
HOLY COW! That’s a lotta cheddar.
xo
s
cathy v says
We installed on in our new “old” house during remodel! Love it!
Karen says
We have had our nest for a while. The first one we got was a dud, but after only 2 days of hair-pulling (spending hours on the phone with tech support with a 9 month old crawling around) they replaced our unit and we love having one that actually works! We still need to paint around it though…
Manda Wolf says
Very cool. I think I would be slightly intimidated with a unit that fancy. Sounds look a good idea, I hope it works as well as you are hoping.
Anne says
Dude, that’s so neat! People are going to think Bill Gates lives there. So high tech. :-)
Caitlin S says
We were on the invite only waiting list for the 1st Gen while it was still being developed (thanks to my adorable geeky hubby). It was installed the second it arrived, although unfortunately we didn’t have compatible wires-our old thermostat only had two wires(!) and contained a mercury thermometer(!).
Make sure you play around with the nest settings/site on your phone AND online as there are some settings/options that seem to show up on one and not the other. We *just* discovered the “fan only” option, which is a life saver out here in the Pacific Northwest where NO ONE has air conditioning. We have a tiny window unit that we use to cool the entire house down and had been using noisy box fans to circulate the air. Once we had the furnace fan turned on? Sweet, sweet silence.
YoungHouseLove says
Smart! I love that you guys were on the waiting list for the Gen 1!
xo
s
LaTonya says
I am so glad you got the Nest! My husband and I have had a love affair with this product for a while. Problem is, we are not homeowners, so we haven’t had the opportunity to purchase one yet. Thank you for allowing me to live vicariously through you. We will definitely be getting a nest once we find our own nest (terrible pun was unfortunately intended). Thanks!
Jenny says
Thanks so much for this post. I am trying to buy a short sale (trying for about 6 months now…) and the house has an old thermosat. And I know I will replace it if/when I get the house. Thanks for the tutorial. I totally need it.
Eileenl says
Very cool! How is the ambient light? Does the face go completely dark when not in use? I get kinda frustrated with new gadgets that give off so much light, even when not on or in use. With all the electronics in our living room, even in the ‘dark’ you can still see the whole room.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it goes completely dark when it’s dormant but the motion sensor turns the light on (so when we walk down the hallway upstairs at night to go to bed, it winks at us).
xo
s
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
Ah, the Nest. We’d be tempted if we actually had a furnace…:)
Ali Burtt says
That’s a cool little upgrade. I wish ours were compatible, but even though it’s brand-new, it seems it’s not. Sadness.
Brenda says
Woah. I had no idea thermostats could be so swanky! I am thoroughly impressed. I especially love being able to adjust from your phone. So cool! (Pun intended.)
Not her, the other girl says
This is definitely the kind of stuff that makes me think “I live in the FUTURE!” Are you going to start accidentally introducing yourselves as the Jetsons now that you have all this fancy technology?
YoungHouseLove says
I have been walking around whispering “the future is now.” Sometimes Burger even barks for effect.
-John
Kallie says
We got the Nest during our major home reno a couple months ago and absolutely LOVE it! Also, National Grid in MA gave us a $100 rebate on the $250 unit which made the deal even sweeter!
Farrah says
Our Lowes store does not let us stack the 5% cardholder discount with any other coupons; it’s whichever is greater. Considering your cashier had to override the transaction, it sounds like you bucked the Lowes system!
Jayme @ Keeping Up With Myself says
I never knew thermostats could be so cool! (Ha, pun.)
We rent, and won’t be buying in the foreseeable future. Is it easy enough of an install that it would be worth it to swap in and out whenever we move?
I’d be sure to ask our landlord, of course, but they’re really nice about stuff like that so I doubt it would be an issue. It’s just the installation that I’d worry about…
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like other renters have bought them and plan to do the swap when them move. Hope it helps!
xo
s
JV says
Defuse, dude, not diffuse. Diffusing a bomb would be a very new age way of stopping it exploding. :D
YoungHouseLove says
Duh! Thanks JV. Off to edit that.
-John
Rotem says
I’m a bit of a techy geek myself and these definitely have me drooling (and dreaming about the day I’ll be out of school and a true home owner…). But I’ve always wondered about these kind of thermostats, what happens if you have a blackout, or your wifi is down? Will the furnace still work, or will you be sweating bullets?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone know? I think when the power goes out your furnace goes out anyway but I haven’t had a wifi outage to see what happens (they’re pretty rare in our area – we either lose power to everything after a storm, or our wifi is always up and running). Anyone else?
xo
s
Erin says
When the power is out, the Nest goes out. I’m not sure about the wifi though, I don’t think it messes with your schedule if you don’t have wifi access. I’m pretty sure that’s just for accessing it over the phone/tablet situation. I do know that when your actual AC unit breaks, the Nest does make sure it lets you know how hot your house is getting! LOL It happened last month, and that glowing blue screen kept telling me I had it set at 75, but my house was 89. That’s the only time I haven’t liked my Nest. Ha!
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
Love this! My husband and I have been talking about getting one for a while now. I’m definitely going to look more into it now!
Robin says
I wonder if we could use this in a rental.??! We could install it then take it with us down the line perhaps. I want one so bad!
Jen @ BeantownBaker.com says
We got a Nest for our new house when we moved in April. It looks like they’ve updated their manual because it didn’t have the steps to check for compatibility… (or my husband ignored them). To say the least, it wasn’t compatible and we were really sad about it. The Nest support team was really helpful and walked us through all the troubleshooting.
Kyle says
We got one a few months ago…and love it. Even my wife (mrsronso) enjoys it. We went right ahead and set up a schedule instead of waiting for it to learn our schedule. Since we got it in the winter, I didn’t want to wake up with a cold house. Over time, I have adjusted it a few degrees in both directions. What I love the most is that you can have as many temperature points as you want. With most other thermostats, you are lucky if you get four per day.
I just wish that our furnace had multiple zones. With the Nest being on the first level, the upstairs is always a little too warm in the winter and summer. But I have found that it is very accurate with the temperature.
Take advantage of the fan settings. This was an addition they just made this summer. I use it daily to just circulate air around the house.
It is fun to see other people as geeked out about it as I was.
molly stillman says
we have a NEST in our small office and honestly, i have been disappointed with it. i was so excited when we got it, but it still always seems to be too hot or too cold in the office (I feel like Goldilocks or something haha) – but we just haven’t found the best way to get it to really set correctly. i will be curious to see how you like it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! A few others have said if you turn it off of the auto-sensor mode you can just schedule it and maybe that will work better for your office since it’s just one zone?
xo
s
Kristi@chatfield court says
Wow, I must be living under a rock because I have never heard of the Nest. My husband apparently hasn’t either, he is like John and would’ve been itching to get one. They sound like a great idea though.
Christine says
Just saw them install this on This Old House and thought to myself – gee, this is something we could actually do! Looking forward to hearing how it works.
Kimberly @ Turning It Home says
I might have a giddy-attack if they ever come up with something that folds laundry for me.
Ryan says
We’ve had our Nest for about a year and we love it. We added extra insulation in the attic of our 1950s ranch at the same time and, with those two upgrades combined, they’ve paid for themselves over the past year.
We live in Oklahoma and we were hit with a derecho last week (which is like a hurricane on land). We spent 4 days without power and staying with family. I kept checking our Nest from my phone to see if power was restored (knowing that, if it showed up, we had power again).
Finally, when I saw that blue circle on my phone, showing the Nest was cooling again, I did the happiest dance ever and hugged a stranger.
Nest rules.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that you knew when it was back on from afar! Whenever our power goes out we always do the “will the lights be on when we get home?” thing.
xo
s
Candice says
Speaking of tax credits/ rebate…you might look into if you qualify for a federal tax credit instead of one just sponsored by your electric co. Other upgrades you guys have recently done do qualify…furnace, roof. I don’t remember if you addressed rebateability on those. Even replacing to energy star doors and windows qualify for a rebate.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Candice! We’ll have to make a note to ask our accountant at tax time!
xo
s
Rob says
I have had my eye on this Honeywell wi-fi enabled thermostat…
http://www.lowes.com/pd_171234-74493-RTH6580WF1001_4294702502__?productId=3850713&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=
…for only $119, it would give me the wifi control I really want.
The only hangup is that I trust Nest more than Honeywell to keep the software up-to-date even after 10 years, and I trust Nest more than Honeywell when dealing with multiple zones.
Christy says
We’ve been intrigued by what we’ve heard about the Nest from a few friends who have one, so I loved reading your step by step tutorial about it. One question – how would it work if you sold your home? Can the new homeowner change the code (not sure if that’s the right terminology?) and use the system with their own phone? We’re doing some upgrades in our home with the thought that we might be selling sometime soon and thought this might be one of those fairly inexpensive upgrades that would appeal to techie, green-conscious and younger buyers.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a good question! You create an account and you associate different unit IDs on your phone, so you just unassociate your account with it (on your phone) and they can add it to their phone and control it instead.
xo
s
Kim says
Oh my gosh, sooooo cool! My husband would love this little gadget. We are looking to buy a 1950’s house, so I’m sure we will be replacing the thermostat as well. I’m going to have to pin a picture from this post, so I can easily find it once we get settled into our (to be determined) new home! Thanks for sharing!
Tracy says
We LOVEEEE our nest. My husband loves techy nerdy things and showed me the nest (right around Christmas time I might add). I bought it for him as his Christmas gift and, to my surprise, immediately got an email from nest telling me I was one of the first people to purchase it(!) because it apparently hadn’t been released yet. They also told me that because I was one of the first, they would pay for someone to come install it for us. It came a few weeks before Christmas and I was so excited that I just gave it to the hubs early. He obviously couldn’t wait to have the guy come install it and realized (same as you) that it is super easy to install.
Oh and another perk – we had an issue with ours about a year later (the screen had a line through it) and nest sent us a new one immediately. Fantastic customer service, great product, and we’ve saved a bunch on our electricity since we got it! Plus, there is nothing like being able to turn the air down from your bed! Enjoy guys!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear that about the customer service!
xo
s
Shell says
I love when you guys do reviews and cost breakdowns! I also love your no-swag policy. I feel like I can really trust your reviews, and I don’t have to scroll to the bottom and find something saying, “this post is sponsored by….”
YAY for keeping it real! :)
Jenni says
I have had my Nest for about 5 months and love it (also re-located it to a better place in the house for learning). I ended up setting a schedule because it was simpler for me, but Nest still pays attention and turns the system to auto away if I’m gone. Just returned from vacation and it was great to be able to turn down the AC after a week of Texas heat so the house was cool when I got home.
Shannon Summers says
Hmmm….. I live in a condo that I rent, but it’s owned by my parents and I think with this post I might be able to convince them to install the nest. I have been wanting one for a long time now and this post just reawakened that want. I think my roommate would also love it because she is crazy frugal with the electric and will sweat me out all the time lol. #Texasproblems Thanks for the great post! Can’t wait for the update!
Sarah says
This post is AWESOME! I have been geeking out about the Nest since I first saw it months ago at Lowes. I can’t wait to show my hubs this post!! Maybe it will motivate us to finally buy the Nest. Also THANKS for the rebate link! How cool is that?
YoungHouseLove says
Sure thing!
-John
Sophie says
Oh to be an American with a central cooling system like that!
Here in the UK it’s SUPER unusual to have cooling in your home (it never really gets hot enough for people to splash out on it) but our recent heatwave has been pretty bad (still cooler than Richmond though!)
My dad installed an AC unit in our house. One of the ones with the fan unit on the outside of the wall and then a big thing on the inside. It’s not attractive but GOODNESS is it bliss after a very long, hot day at work!
Tamara says
I’d be curious to know how it works for you since you work at home. I have a Nest, but I work at home, so I kind of bailed on the auto-scheduling stuff early and just set up my own. I think that our schedule is too irregular.
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
That is awesome! I’d LOVE one of these for our house!