Reinventing the wheel

digitalbeachbum's picture

Four months ago I purchased a Nest thermostat and I was very reluctant to do so. I had heard of problems with the 1st generation of thermostats and decided that I didn't need to be lazy and have some smart sensor handling my AC/heater.

After four months I must say I'm glad I spent $250 to get it. After four months I've already lowered my electrical bill by $14 a month which could because of other reasons, but I'm suspecting that the sudden drop in usage is because ot the new device.

What I like most about the device is that it has a feature to learn how long it takes to get your house to a specific temp. So if you set it to 75 and it takes 40 minutes to cool, then it calculates that cool air left in the handler along with the coolant in the lines will have enough umph to still lower your house overall temp if it runs the fan for X amount of seconds. Thus you don't need to run your compressor and the unit is turned off.

While these seconds don't sound like a lot it adds up, cent by cent by cent. By my calculations, a nickel every time I run my AC. Being here in Florida that means a lot because the humidity is the big problem.

The other thing I like is the motion sensor which knows when you are home. My sensor is near the door where we come in and go out. After you are gone for a while with no movement in the house, it kicks in to away mode. It also senses the app on my phone, when it is running, and knows I'm away. This saves money too, nickel by nickel. Over time I didn't even need to program it because it has built a program based on our previous desires.

I'm like a little kid trying to get the monthly reports to show "green leafs" which show you conserved energy compared to previous times. I've thought about getting a second sensor for upstairs which communicates with the downstairs unit. We have a room which is vaulted and that can cause a lot of lost energy so the extra sensor would help conserve but I'm not sure I need it right now.

Overall I recommend it. There is another company which makes a similar unit but I have no idea if it is good. I didn't research it.

It makes me wonder why the industry took so fucking long to design something like this; did they have their heads up their asses? The technology has been around for a long time. It isn't any thing different except for taking a few items and then applying them to an old product.

Vastet's picture

I've found that most

I've found that most inventions are things that probably could have been invented years or decades before they were. It just took a person with sufficient motivation to compile everything. And then, usually, someone else refines it and makes it even better.

I haven't really paid attention to this technology because I'm not big on using appliances to change the temperature. If it's really hot and I have the option to, I'll use AC. But I turn it off when I'm not there, and I never turn the heat on in the winter. I keep the place warm enough that pipes don't freeze, but that's it (thermometers bottom out between 5C and 15C, so that doesn't actually require any action on my part). I doubt it would impact my bills in the slightest. But I can see it having a considerable impact in many situations.

Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.