Nest Thermostat - Guess I must be saving money?

I fitted my Nest's about six months ago and whilst for most of that period the heating has not needed to come on, it looks like I am already making a saving.  Just had a letter from my energy provider informing me they are reducing the size of my direct debit as I not using as much energy as before.  Whilst this probably isn't just down to the Nest, I am sure its a major contributor.  Although it will be some time before a recoup the purchase price of three nests. All in all I still very happy with my Nest's and if the energy savings continue I will be very happy indeed!

Nest Thermostat after 28 days.

It has now been four weeks since I installed my first Nest thermostat in my house and since then I have added two additional Nest Thermostat, one to control the kitchen and one for the upstairs, making a total of three. Currently they are all on Nest stands although I will hard wire a couple of them when I am next going to decorate as I will have to chase in new cables.

Over the last few weeks I have had several days when in some of the rooms the heating has not been required at all.  With my old system I would of carried on heating the area.  I have noticed that the auto away seems to be a bit strange about when it triggers, some times it cuts in fine but other days it does not. I am wondering if it might be down to sun light hitting the sensor?

On the client side, we have now installed several for clients with all types of heating systems and so far everyone is really happy.  I just wish the Nest Protect was available, just about every client we have installed a thermostat is keen to get a couple.  Hopefully they will get there issues sorted soon.

Nest Thermostat after 7 days.

Well its one week since I installed my first Nest thermostat in my house and so far I am very pleased but do have a few minor concerns.

1. How long will it take it to learn how long my Underfloor Heating takes to come to temperature?  Currently it seems to be going at least 3C over temp.
2. Will having the Nest on the stand on a counter top slightly lower than the ideal have a major effect on performance?
3. What should I do in the summer, traditionally I have always turned my heat off from May till the end of September but I am not sure this is the way to go with a Nest.
4. It would be really nice if you could put the stat into demo mode to disable learning when give demo's to friends and family.

Time will tell, and I will be posting regular updates.

Nest Install Uk

Well after a long wait Nest have released there learning thermostat in the UK.  The product that we have got is quite different from the US model, whilst much of the basic functionality remains the same the installation is very different.  Unlike the US model the UK version can operate via wireless and requires a base station, if you currently have a wireless stat it is very much the same thing.

Should I install it myself?

First of all installing the Thermostat involves mains voltage electrical connection unless you are both competent and confident doing this I would strongly recommend you employ a certified installer to do the install for you. Assuming you are happy doing this type of work the next thing you need to identify is what type of heating system you have.  I would say that unless you are a plumber or electrician you should only consider installing yourself if you have a combi boiler or fancy the challenge of figuring out a maze of wiring!

The install

I decided to install it myself mainly because I have underfloor heating and felt it could take a while to explain how this is set up to an installer.  The install was very simple and took me about 45min.  I opted to mount my Nest on the stand which you need to purchase separately, it costs an extra £29.

The configuration

I found the configuration very quick and easy it takes you through the steps one by one. A few things you need to be aware of:

1. During the install you are asked if you currently have a programmer, if you say yes you have to enter your program into the stat. I found this very awkward to do at the stat, I would suggest its much easier to set this up through the web portal.
2. The Nest does not support 5Ghz wifi, this did not cause me much in the way of problems but I know others have had issues with interference from neighbours etc.
3. The auto away function does not work until it has had time to learn your habits.

Conclusions

To be honest its to soon to make any but so far my first impressions are good. I will update once I have some more experience with it.