Do you know where your thermostat is and what it looks like? It is probably the typical grey/white rectangular box that is found in nearly every home. However, this week the Nest Learning Thermostat opened its doors to Canada to purchase a high-tech thermostat that has the potential to save homeowners money.
Initially only offered in the US, Nest created a thermostat that “learns” your preferences and adapts to save energy and money.
With a very sleek look, as a round thermostat with bright colors, it reminds me of the Apple products, and it’s no surprise as the co-founder, Tony Fadell, was the lead designer of the very well-known iPods and iPhones until 2005.
For the price of US$249, Canadians cans reduce their energy bill by 20% as stated on the company’s website.
“You’ll spend $30,000 heating and cooling your home over the 20-year life of your system.
In that time, the $249 Nest Learning Thermostat, which takes 30 minutes to install and programs itself in a week, can save you $6,000.”
Some of the features of the Nest include:
- After a week of setting the temperature to your preference, the Nest thermostat is able to automatically program itself, while continuing adapting to our changing lives.
- It has multiple sensors: Sensors for when you’ve left the house, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, and weather sensors by using its Wi-Fi connection to keep an eye on current weather conditions so it can understand how the outside temperature affects your energy use.
- A leaf icon shows you if you are saving energy when you change the dial.
- You can also control the nest wherever you are on your smartphone and it can provide detailed information on your current usage via smartphone or computer.
Although the price seems a bit steep at first glance, the Nest Learning Thermostat seems like worthwhile investment with energy costs rising. Would you be willing to be the first to test out this new technology?
