Nest has long had the lead in smart thermostats, and it's looking to continue its dominance by enticing a different set of consumers to pick up a Nest thermostat. It's doing that with the Nest Thermostat E, which drops the full LCD display on the front, but keeps most of the features that have made the Nest so successful. It's also cheaper, which is what most people will care about.
The current third-gen Nest looks like a piece of technology on your wall, which Nest says it wanted to avoid with the Thermostat E. There's still an LCD behind the scenes, but the front of the device has a frosted panel that allows the minimal UI to shine through. This is the main difference between the Nest third-gen and the E—it won't show you things like upcoming forecasts, the time, and a full temperature meter with tick marks on the screen. You just get the temperature and a cleaner temperature gauge.
The Thermostat E plugs into the same Nest app, but it flips over to a cleaner white UI when you connect to the E. All the smart features like scheduling and motion detection are included in the E as well. And of course, you can still twist the thermostat to set the temperature manually.
Nest has simplified the mounting mechanism for the E, but it still has the built-in level to make mounting the base to the wall easier. There are fewer wire contacts on this one, so only 85% of homes will be able to use the Thermostat E, which isn't too much lower than the regular Nest at 95%. The big selling point here is the price. The Nest Thermostat E is just $169, available today. Nest recommends you have someone install it (which costs more), but it should be relatively easy to do yourself. With energy rebates in certain areas you can almost get the Thermostat E for free.
PRESS RELEASE
August 30, 2017 –Palo Alto, Calif.–Nest Labs, Inc. (www.nest.com), architect of the thoughtful home, today announced the expansion of its thermostat line with the introduction of the Nest Thermostat E. With a fresh look, new features, and a lower price point than the Nest Learning Thermostat, the Nest Thermostat E can be controlled from anywhere with your phone, and it comes with a pre-configured basic schedule so you can start saving energy right out of the box. It’s been completely re-designed, with an industry-first frosted display that helps it subtly blend into any home. It’s everything customers have come to expect from Nest thermostats with a renewed focus on simplicity and control.
“In 2011, we reinvented the thermostat category to make it easy for people to save energy,” said Matt Rogers, co-founder and chief product officer, Nest. ”Fast forward six years: Nest owners have saved more than 14 billion kWh --the equivalent of providing electricity to all the homes in New York State for over 100 days --and now we are bringing beautiful design and proven energy saving capabilities into even more homes. To do that, we needed to simplify. The more subtle look and feel of the Nest Thermostat E will seamlessly blend into any environment. To do that, we needed to simplify. The more subtle look and feel of the Nest Thermostat E will seamlessly blend into any environment. It’s everything our customers have come to know and love from Nest thermostats with a renewed focus on user simplicity and control.”
The Nest Thermostat E makes saving energy simple, with a beautiful, subtle design. New features include:
●New industrial design. TheNest Thermostat E moves away from the prominent look of the Nest Learning Thermostat and replaces it with a more subtle design, highlighted by a white exterior ring and frosted display.
●Frosted display. The frosted display is designed to blend into your home. It achieves this effect with special display technology that lets light out but doesn’t let light in. When the frosted display is off, the screen is off, the screen is grey. When it’s on, it displays soft text and images that are designed to be easy to see and read with a slight glow. The frosted display uses an ambient light sensor to share information at just the right brightness.
●Scheduling made simple. TheNest Thermostat E comes with a pre-set schedule, which enables customers to save energy right out of the box. This can be easily managed directly from the Nest app. Or it can learn your schedule, just like the Nest Learning Thermostat. It's ENERGY
STARⓇ certified and expected to save between $131 and $145 a year per the results of an internal Nest study and two independent studies of the previous model.
The core experience of the Nest Thermostat E includes features that people have come to expect from previous Nest thermostats.
●The Nest Thermostat E turns off automatically when it detects nobody is home, to help save energy.
●It’s easy to change the temperature from anywhere with the Nest app from a phone, laptop, or smartwatch, and even with popular voice assistants such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa.
●Through the Works with Nest program, additional connected products, such as ovens and lights, integrate with the Nest Thermostat E to add more comfort and convenience.
●Nest sends alerts if the heating or cooling system needs attention, so customers can act before it breaks.
●The Nest Thermostat E is easy to install, with most customers installing them in 30 minutes or less. In addition, there are more than 20,000 certified Nest Pros in the U.S. available to install Nest products.
The Nest Thermostat E is available on www.nest.comfor $169 USD, as well as from leading retailers and energy partners. Over 55% of US homes, about 64 million total, may qualify for a rebate or reward on a Nest Thermostat E. Programs vary by state and energy provider.
Source: Nest Thermostat E, Nest blog