The Energy Star-certified Google Nest smart Thermostat is sleek and stylish, but it’s not really a smart thermostat. At least, it’s not like its older sibling, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, which learns your habits and preferences and sets up a heating and cooling schedule for you. The latest Google Nest is basically a programmable thermostat that can connect to Wi-Fi. You have to program it when you first set it up. The Google Nest Thermostat is very simple to use and manage by hand. However, compared to other smart thermostats, it doesn’t have as many smart features and can’t “learn” your habits and behaviors. That’s why it did so badly in CR’s tests: It doesn’t do well on our automatic test, which checks how well the thermostat can make changes by itself.
We didn’t mind that as much at home, though. It was pretty easy to put it in a house from the 1950s that had been fixed up and had a forced-air HVAC system. The Google Home app’s step-by-step instructions made it easy, and the thermostat worked even without a C-wire, or common wire, which is what most other smart thermostats need to keep power going. It was also easy to program, but the app didn’t have a way to copy a day’s plans to another.
But once you’ve done the hard work of setting the plan for each day of the week again, the Google Home app makes it easy to change and tweak the thermostat. The presence-sensing feature of the thermostat also worked as promised. However, it took up to an hour for the thermostat to figure out that we weren’t home, which I thought was too long. We also tested the thermostat in a house that had Google Nest Protect smoke and CO alarms. We found that the thermostat uses both its own motion sensor and the motion sensors in other Nest products to get a better idea of whether someone is home.
Specifications
- Brand Google
- Model Name Google Nest Thermostat
- Product Dimensions 1.07″D x 3.31″W x 3.31″H
- Controller Type Vera, Google Assistant, nest, iOS, Android
- Special Feature Programmable
Where to Get Google Nest Thermostat?
The reflective surface of the Nest Thermostat is the first thing that catches your eye. It’s a bit bigger than the mirror in a makeup bag, but it’s probably just as useful if you need to touch up while you’re walking by. Things like the temperature and other status updates glow below the surface of the thermostat. They only show up when you walk close to it and it feels your presence. If you get really close, you can see that the screen is a small square inside the circle. The Nest Thermostat and the Nest Learning Thermostat are both round, but the Nest Thermostat’s outer bezel doesn’t spin.
Instead, it has a small touch strip on the right side that you can use to move through menus and choose things. It’s easy enough to use, though I did tap when I meant to scroll by mistake. But it’s not as classic or satisfying as the original. You don’t have to touch the Nest Thermostat’s surface to choose things, which is good because your fingerprints won’t get on the reflective surface. However, years of using touch screens made me want to tap on the screen automatically.