We’ve got more to say if you’re ready to jump on in. If your schedule varies a lot, it’ll be harder for the thermostat to follow. You’ll spend more time making manual adjustments. Or you can turn the Auto-Schedule setting off if you don’t want the learning part of this smart thermostat.
White Black Mirror black Stainless steel Polished steel Copper Brass
The Nest Learning is fairly nice-looking, as far as thermostats go, and it’s fun to customize the ring to match your home’s decor. Nest Learning Thermostat settings:
Eco Mode: can save you energy by adjusting settings when you’re away from your house Furnace Heads-Up: detects problems with your air heating system Farsight: shows you helpful info like the weather, time, or date (only available in 3rd gen thermostats) Time-to-Temperature: shows you how long it will take for your home to reach a new temperature Sunblock: ignores/compensates for direct sunlight shining on your thermostat when taking the temperature Seasonal Savings: saves you energy and money during the winter and summer through efficiency adjustments Safety Temperatures: prevents your home from extreme hot or cold temperatures that might result in frozen pipes or overheating
Some of the settings and features cross over; they do similar things. In spite of our research, we aren’t always sure where one feature ends and another takes over. Happily, you don’t have to pay for a subscription to use the cool features. And the smart settings on the thermostat can potentially save you money on your energy bill. That means that, if used correctly, the Nest Learning Thermostat can pay for itself over time. Unfortunately, the sensors don’t have motion or occupancy detectors. They can’t tell if someone’s in the room or pick up on your movement to help the thermostat learn your schedule. So if you want more motion sensors, you need to get more thermostats. That’s a lot of moolah. It doesn’t work with Apple HomeKit, though, so if you’re all about that Apple smart home, this thermostat won’t fit into your dreams. The Nest Learning Thermostat also doesn’t support Zigbee or Z-Wave. In the past, users said that the app layout was so different from the thermostat face, it was confusing. But it looks like the app is now more in line with the physical thermostat for a more seamless experience. However, an HVAC system can be complicated, and we’ve heard from a lot of people that this thermostat isn’t easy to wire. You also have to remove your old thermostat, which can be a pain. Unless you have previous experience with heating and cooling controls, we suggest hiring a professional. (Google can help you find an installer through a service called Nest Pro.) To learn more about our thoughts on thermostats, check out our review of the best smart thermostats.
