User:CS104 22/sandbox/Nest 3rd Generation Thermostat

Size and weight: weight-206g, diameter-8.4cm, height-2.7cm

Introduction

The 3rd Generation Nest Thermostat has recently been launched by the smart home division of Google’s holding brand Alphabet and is the third generation of their state-of-the-art smart thermostats, Nest. The thermostat will be available at 7,000 retail locations across the globe as well as from 25,000 Nest Pro installers. The third generation of the smart thermostat features a variety of improvements over its predecessor. It has advancements in its physical profile, the size and quality of the display, as well as multiple newly added and improved features. Some features are made exclusively available to customers in Europe. For a full list of all features, see below.

Features

The price on release in the US was $249 with instillation and $199 without, and UK and European prices yet to be announced.

• Hot water (exclusive to Europe) – The 3rd Generation Thermostat can control your hot water tank, in addition to normal heating functions. The schedule of the hot water can be adjusted from your phone or thermostat, at anytime and anywhere, and the feature Auto-Away works in conjunction with the hot water tank to help save energy when the house is vacant.
• Advanced modulation with OpenTherm (exclusive to Europe) – 3rd Generation Nest uses the feature OpenTherm for communicating with compatible boilers and the Nest Thermostat to calculate the exact quantity of gas to burn to reach or maintain the requested temperature, instead of just turning the boiler on or off. This improvement helps save energy as well as prolongs the life of the user’s heating system.
• New and improved design – The 3rd Generation Nest Thermostat has a 40% larger display with a higher resolution of 229 pixels per inch – 25% more than the previous model graphics for the display have also been improved so it is possible to examine the display from a further distance. The 3rd generation Nest Thermostat also has a slightly thinner profile so it can sit flush against the wall and blend in better with the interior design.
• Farsight - Using what Nest Labs calls a "near field activity sensor", Farsight can detect human movement from up to approximately ten feet away. When movement is detected, the screen of the devices is automatically activated, showing either the current set time, or the home temperature. The user is given the option to choose whether they would like to be shown the time or the temperature from the internal settings. The clock can be shown in either an analogue or a digital format and both clock types feature white text on a black background. Users are also given the option to turn Farsight off.
• Furnace Heads-Up - Another feature that was firstly added with the launch of the third generation is Furnace Heads-Up, which monitors the in-house furnace.
• Internet Control – The 3rd Gen Nest Thermostat also comes with the ability to be controlled via the Internet through a mobile app and adapts to user behaviour over time. It also has compatibility with other Nest products.

The 3rd Generation Nest Smart Thermostat has received generally good reviews, with an overall score of 8.7/10 on CNET who praised the product for its “larger display, a better resolution and an all-new far-field sensor for viewing time and temperature information from a distance.” But noted that the thermostat lacked remote temperature sensors, taking away from its functionality. BestBuy customers gave the product an average score of 4.8/5. There have however been some requests for increased functionality, such as remote temperature sensors.

• Rechargable battery - The 3rd generation NEST Smart Thermostat also features an internal, rechargable batter - a returning feature from the previous NEST models. The feature has been praised for it's ability to keep the NEST device running, even during the event of a powercut. However, an ongoing issue with this feature is that if the home wifi network is affected by the powercut, then it is not possible to control the thermostat via the Nest app.
• Nest makes an use of an Emergency alarm sound when there’s smoke or carbon monoxide build up in the environment where the device is installed.

Mobile Compatibility

Similarly to previous devices, the 3rd generation Nest Thermostat can be controlled via smartphone, tablet or laptop. The 3rd generation Nest can be controlled in a similar fashion to the 2nd Generation with no real new features. If the user is already in posession of a Nest account, then the new thermostat can be quickly registered as a device on the existing account. From there, the temperature can be changed, or the thermostat can be switched off. The app is available on all IOS and Android devices.

Nest Vs Hive

There are 2 main competitors involved with thermostats and they are:-

• Nest owned by Google.
• Hive owned by UK energy provider British Gas.

Both of these thermostats can be controlled by applications on smartphones. Features which are new in the Nest 3rd generation thermostat are as follows:

• The Nest screen is 40% larger than previous generations.

Nest also say that the screens resolution is a lot more sharper and crisp.

• Nest has also added a new feature which will support hot water tanks in the UK and Europe, which was a big thing to add as previous generations didn’t have this feature.

Now looking at hives newest features for its latest generation which is Hive Active Heating 2 is as follows

• Hive have included a new interface on both the new application for smartphones and the actual thermostat itself.
• Also Hive have allowed the buyer to customise the shell of the thermostat which can fit the style of the buyer’s home décor.

Pricing

Both of the thermostats have an equal price of $249 which includes installation but if you were to install the thermostats yourself then it will cost $199 each. Though it is recommended that you do research before you do so or let Nest be installed for you as it can get complicated as there’s a lot of wires that connect to each other. Also its worth to mention that Hive was allowing current Hive owners to purchase the 2nd generation version for $99 for a limited time period.

Installation

Similar parts come with both the thermostats which include:-

• A network hub
• Thermostat itself
• Regulator which connects to the boiler

There is a key difference between these 2 thermostats which is the Nest requires main power whereas the Hive requires 4 AA batteries. Having the ability to charge the thermostat with batteries is a very flexible way of having it as you can place it anywhere in your home but batteries run out and cost money and if you run out of batteries and don’t have any spare then what? Although Nest have the ability of being able to choose where you place the thermostat, on the wall or on a stand which is very convenient bearing in mind if it was on a wall the you might have to run wires through the walls. There is only one component that requires to be installed by an engineer and that’s the part that communicates with the boiler and Nest call it a Heat Link whereas Hive call it a Receiver.

Compatibility with boilers

Obviously the 2 thermostats cannot be 100% clear and direct with what boiler they can and cannot support as there are thousands of boilers out there. Guidelines for Hive are:

• Any working gas or liquefied petroleum gas(LPG)
• Some electric boilers work
• If you have an oil boiler you are recommended to get In contact with them and find out if it’s suitable or not.

Guidelines for Nest are:-

• Combi and condensing boilers
• System and heat-only boilers
• Hydronic underfloor systems
• Air-source and ground-source heat pumps
• Switched live systems
• Low-voltage dry-contact systems

Nest VS Hive – what can they do?

It is said that Nest’s biggest trick is that it can detect when you’re home and based on this judgement it will turn the heating down if you’re out and turn it on when your home without you touching it. This is what gives it its tag of being a “learning thermostat” and this feature can save a lot of money. Obviously one thermostat can’t detect movement throughout the full house but that’s why you can install multiple thermostats which will help with this problem. Hive can’t match this element of learning as it doesn’t have possess sensor Nest has to be able to detect when people are home, but Hive have a Geolocation app which is said to achieve a similar effect and Hive could possibly include this feature in future generations to come as they are expanding their ecosystem. Both systems have a mode called “Holiday mode”.

External links

• CNET
• Trusted Reviews