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A smart thermostat is a device you're not planning on upgrading every year or two like some other tech. So when the time comes to pick one, you really want to choose correctly since you'll be living with this decision for many years.
With its slick interface and future-friendly Matter compatibility, the 4th Gen Nest Learning Thermostat is a solid choice to trust with your home's heating and cooling.
Smart Thermostats 101
If you're new to the world of smart thermostats there's a few reasons you'd choose these over a regular thermostat:
- Control with smartphone app
- Control temperature through smart speaker
- Create custom schedules for night/day
- Create custom settings for home/away
- Automatically detect when you're home/away
The overall benefits above are related to convenience (you're already lying in bed and just by shouting to your smart speaker you can turn up or down the temperature) and potential energy bill savings (scheduling based on peak hours, reducing energy use while you're not home, etc).
What's new with the Nest Learning Thermostat?
The latest features on the 4th gen Nest Learning Thermostat mostly have to do with better temperature control settings and, as the name suggests, doing a better job of "learning" about your home and habits.
By knowing the outdoor temperature based on your location, your smart thermostat can make intelligent decisions related to heating and cooling your home. So if you have your device on Eco Mode, it will note your desired internal temperature and decide if it needs to activate your cooling system or, based on the outside temperature, if your home will naturally cool to the desired temperature in a reasonable amount of time.
It also does the same thing related to air quality (it will pause outdoor air intake if air quality is poor).
If you choose to share your location (based on where your phone is), the Nest Learning Thermostat can quickly learn your daily routines of when you're home and away and can begin suggesting heating and cooling patterns to help save you money. Rather than merely suggesting, you can also set the thermostat to automatically apply changes based on your routine.
Nest Learning Thermostat Design
This Thermostat has a really bold look, which I love. The display size is 60 percent larger than the previous generation and you have a variety of options for what is displayed on the screen.
You can have a detailed view of the inside temp, outside temp, and current heating or cooling mode, a simple clock face, or additional looks depending on the vibe of the room. By using local weather info, an animation of the current conditions shows up on the display, which looks super cool.
There's also a really nice tactile feel as you twist or press down on the bangle (that's what Google calls the twistable thing encircling your thermostat). Likely this is super nerdy, but I literally went "ooooohhhhh" as I twisted the thing for the first time. And you can physically push down on the display to use it like a button, or tap it to access different menu features.
Those features you can control right from the thermostat include:
- Settings (Looking up system info, factory reset, etc.)
- Fan (Run time on/off, etc.)
- Sensors (Info about the additional temperature sensors)
- Eco Hold - (Hold an energy saving temperature)
- Hold - (Keep a specific temperature for a specified time)
- Mode (Switching between heating/cooling)
- Back (General Menu Navigation)
Is the Nest Learning Thermostat easy to install?
When you open up your Nest thermostat there is a QR code to scan which helps you get started with setting up your Nest Thermostat through the Google Home app.
This is the third time I've installed a thermostat and I found the job to be pretty easy. I did have to add in a screw and drywall anchor (I was able to use one anchor from my previous thermostat).
And as far as wiring goes, I found it very easy. If you've ever considered a smart thermostat in past years and were thwarted in your hopes for smart home temperature control because of a "C wire" this won't hold you back with the Nest Learning Thermostat because it doesn't require one.
Whenever wiring anything, especially if this is something you don't do often, you have to be super careful. While I did turn off the breaker for that specific area of the house, I always feel much more confident when I can double check if there's any live current in a wire by using a handy little wire tester tool (see below). This caution comes from a breaker being mislabeled and a near miss when swapping out a smoke detector, so now I always double check.
Venlab Voltage Tester
A voltage tester can help you detect if a current is going through an electrical wire, letting you know if it's safe to contact. I like the design of this one because it has a little clip to attach to a pocket or belt while you work, and it's a fairly inexpensive tool to give you an extra level of confidence when doing DIY electrical work.
For ventilation and humidity in your home, this model of Nest thermostat is the most compatible model with different HVAC systems so it's going to be very helpful for keeping tabs on air quality AND making sure the temperature actually "feels" like the right temperature by factoring in the humidity percentage in your home.
If you're note sure whether this thermostat will work with your home, use the Nest compatibility checker to find out.
What colours does the Nest Learning Thermostat come in?
There are three colour options available for the Nest Learning Themrostat:
- Polished Silver
- Obsidian (black)
- Gold
I have the polished silver one and I really like the look. It has a high shine almost mirror-like quality to it.
Is the Nest Learning Thermostat Wireless?
One of the most common questions people ask me about smart thermostats is whether or not they're wireless, which always confuses me a bit.
After some digging, I learn what they're actually asking is whether there's a way to "wirelessly" set or control the temperature based on different rooms in the house being too hot or too cool.
In that case, yes, the Nest Learning Thermostat is "wireless" with the help of the Nest Temperature Sensor.
When you buy the 4th Gen Nest Learning Thermostat, it comes with a second gen Nest Temperature Sensor. This is a small, two-inch-ish puck that can be placed in a different room in the house to track the temperature in that space. You can mount it on a wall with a single screw or just place it on a flat surface.
You can then program your Nest Thermostat to specifically make sure that the temperature set on the thermostat is based on either the room where your thermostat is, the room where your sensor is, or an average between the two.
There's also the option to add additional sensors, which could be handy to keep the overall home temperature consistent if you have your thermostat on the main floor, a sensor in the basement, and a sensor in an upstairs bedroom.
Is the Nest Learning Thermostat worth it?
If you want the smartest of smart thermostats and are looking for something that won't be dated in a year or two, the 4th Gen Nest Learning Thermostat is a very solid choice.
Nest Learning Thermostat
The Gen 4 Nest Learning Thermostat is a sleek and smart thermostat that can automatically make adjustments to maximize your comfort and energy savings. It's easy to control through the built-in interface, from your phone, or using a smart speaker.
It's about twice as expensive as the regular Nest Thermostat. And for that extra money you're getting deeper smart integration (through learning your routines and automatically adjusting settings), wider compatibility with a variety of HVAC systems, a bigger display, and Nest sensor compatibility (to make temperature adjustments based on other rooms).
Those things I mentioned above, might not be relevant to you. And rather than the learning scheduling feature, you can just program most of that stuff into the base Nest thermostat. So with that in mind, if you want to save some cash and don't need the extra bells and whistles, the base model is a solid choice
Nest Thermostat
For a very capable but slightly less expensive smart thermostat alternative, the base level Nest Thermostat still has adeqaute smart features, but at a lower price.
While the Nest Learning Thermostat does come with one temperature sensor, I bought a second one for my basement (the one it came with is in my bedroom) and I'm really impressed with how effectively it maintains the temperature throughout my house with this sensor array.
Nest Temperature Sensor (Gen 2)
Adding additional Nest Temperature Sensors is an optional way to keep your home temperature more consistent. The latest model is not compatible with the basic Nest Thermostat, so if you want to use these, you'll need to have a Nest Learning Thermostat.
Previously I was using an EcoBee 3 smart thermostat. It was pretty good. I liked the interface on the thermostat and the controls in the app. I found it worked really well with the Home app for Apple but often didn't work well with my Google devices (Nest hub/Nest mini speakers) and the temperature sensor on the EcoBee often didn't show up in apps.
With just about two weeks of testing Google's newest smart thermostat I'm really impressed with the speed and comfort this thermostat is adjusting my home's temperature. Plus I really like the look and how it shows up in other smart devices like my Google TV Streamer and the Google Home App (regardless of whether I'm accessing the app on an iPhone or a Pixel phone – I use both).
I feel very confident recommending this new Nest Learning Thermostat. Even though it's double the price of the base Nest Smart Thermostat (and like 3-4 times as much as a basic non-smart thermostat) there are some really great features that bring immediate comfort and style.
In the coming months, particularly as it dips to -40 degrees in the Winnipeg Winter, I'll be curious to see how this performs in terms of energy savings and I'll share relevant updates on social media.
This is the first "review" I've done of a smart thermostat, and I'm really hoping it's relevant and helpful. Whether it is or isn't, I'd honestly like to know! You can leave a comment on here or send me a DM on Instagram.
My goal for geekingout.ca is to make a tech website that's really relevant and simple to understand for the majority of people, particularly people who aren't normally geeking out over tech stuff, but want a better understanding of something techwise so they know if it will be helpful to their everyday life. I hope this review did that for you!
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