[brk]

I've heard very very mixed reviews. Several direct friends of mine have installed them and gotten very poor results. I think much of it depends on the predictability of your time at home/away and the location of the thermostat itself to sense activity.

My distilled opinion is that they are not significantly better than a simple programmable thermostat for most people.

[ceejayoz]

> My distilled opinion is that they are not significantly better than a simple programmable thermostat for most people.

I'm only one data point, but my bill's been down by about a third over the last year.

[baggachipz]

I have two Nest thermostats (one upstairs, one down) and they're one of the best things I've done to my home. Beyond easy programmability and learning, I can easily put it to away via the phone app from anywhere. The AirWave feature has saved me some money too. I have had nothing but a great experience.

[dm2]

They do have a sensor that can detect and compensate if the unit is in direct sunlight. Maybe that feature needs tweaking.

[foobarian]

I never heard of it before, but it seems like it addresses the major issues I have with programmable thermostats, which is that their UX is invariably like something from the 1960s.

Now if you could disable all that learning crap then we'd be talking.

[hrq]

You can disable that stuff. Once you turn learning off you can use it either as a normal thermostat or as a pre-programmed one.

I actually use our Nest as a normal thermostat that just looks great and can connect with my phone. It's awesome. I also like that it tells us our energy usage relative to everyone else.

I bought it because it's far and away the best looking thermostat out there and because it can connect with my phone. LOVE it for those reasons.

[dm2]

My major hassle with my Nest thermostat is the WiFi password. Try entering a long password into a device with no buttons.

[ceejayoz]

You should only have to do it once, though.

[Kliment]

What is a direct friend?

[mrgordon]

A friend, as opposed to a friend of a friend or someone on the internet