Google unveiled its smartest Nest Learning Thermostat to date on Tuesday, which uses Gemini AI to continually tweak the indoor temperature based on your behavior to maximize both your comfort and your energy savings.
The “Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen)” is a marked design departure from its predecessor. The new model is offered in three metal finishes—Polished Silver, Polished Obsidian and Polished Gold—and features a new domed LCD display that is 60 percent larger than the gen 3. What’s more, Google has done away completely with the bezel, replacing it with layers of mirror and colored film. The home screen can now be customized as well, to display the time, temperature, weather or outdoor air quality.
With the new model, you’ll set a schedule for how you want your home heated and cooled. The thermostat will then make small adjustments to the temperature based on your schedule, such as when you’re home and what changes you manually make to the temperature while you’re there. Using Smart Schedule, the Nest will figure out which temperature settings you use most often, then automatically adjust the schedule should it detect changes in your patterns; your coming home early from work, for instance.
The thermostat doesn’t just respond to your habits, it also pays attention to the weather outside. For example, if its sunny and warm out, the thermostat might pause actively heating your home to save energy as it warms naturally. Conversely, it might crank up the A/C on its own volition should the weather outside grow humid and balmy. The new thermostat will even keep tabs on your home’s HVAC system. If it notices an issue with the A/C performance, for example, the Learning Thermostat will send you an urgent alert.
Each 4th gen Learning Thermostat will come with a 2nd gen Nest Temperature Sensor included, which can help you monitor the humidity and temperature of specific rooms and spaces within your home. Each Nest thermostat can receive input from up to six sensors and the latest model allows you to activate any of them on demand as well as average the temperature across some or all, as you need.
You can pre-order the Nest Learning Thermostat at the Google Store, as well as other retailers, for $280 in the US. It will be available in Canada on August 20 and retail for $380. Additional Temperature Sensors cost $40 apiece or $100 for a 3-pack.
Source: Google
