Google’s an old hand in the smart home space. Thirteen years ago, it introduced the Nest Thermostat, a first-generation model that intelligently manages utility use, making monitoring easier. We’re now on our fourth generation, with a newly announced — and, frankly, stunning — Nest Learning Thermostat that also comes with a redesigned Nest Temperature Sensor.
The new Nest Thermostat was announced alongside the new Google TV Streamer and came a week ahead of Google’s fall Pixel event.
A really stunning design
This new Nest Learning Thermostat is sleeker than ever, with Google saying it’s intended to “look like a piece of art.” It measures 3.9 inches in diameter, and it’s just 1.1 inches thick. You now have a borderless 2.7-inch LCD screen that’s 60% larger than previous generations. It very much resembles Google’s Pixel Watch, which makes for an intriguing design language. And the display lives behind multiple layers of colored and mirrored glass, making it appear bezel-free.
As part of a feature called Dynamic Farsight, Google has made the display easier to customize to display time, temperature, weather, and outdoor air quality at a glance.
Color options include Polished Silver, Polished Obsidian, and Polished Gold.
Meanwhile, the included Nest Temperature Sensor is a small, white pebble-like disc that you can put on a bookshelf or hang in a room from the keyhole on the back.
Smart features
Naturally, no smart thermostat would be complete these days without finding a way to incorporate AI. On that front, Google doesn’t disappoint with the built-in AI making automatic micro-adjustments to conditions based on your patterns. The AI will create personalized energy-saving temperature schedules and comse with a Smart Schedule. It learns which temperatures you choose most often and changes its behavior based on motion detection in your home. For instance, if it detects you come home earlier more often, it’ll adjust the temperature schedule to match. While these features can be implemented automatically, you can enable or disable them in the Google Home app.
The new thermostat can also analyze weather outdoors and its impact on the temperature inside. Google provides the example of a sunny winter day warming up your home. In that case, the thermostat will pause heating. Or, on a humid day, it may adjust accordingly because the indoor real-feel temperature is higher than what’s being registered.
To that end, Google has a new Nest Temperature sensor to help you manage different hot and cold spots in your home. You get one in the box with the new Nest Thermostat, and you can add up to six to control the average temperature across different rooms or spaces. So if your office generally runs cold because it’s above the garage, it may be a prime candidate for a sensor.
Finally, like previous generations of the Nest thermostat, the latest model supports Nest Renew. When you enroll in the program, the thermostat will try to make adjustments to make energy use cleaner and less expensive. In theory, Energy Shift should lower your energy bills over time while putting less strain on the grid, which is handy during heat waves.
Other goodies
The new Nest Learning Thermostat isn’t light on features. A System Health Monitor helps you manage your HVAC system. It’ll track your HVAC performance over time and send you urgent alerts if problems need attention, such as your AC failing to cool. As with all the other features, it’ll get more intelligent about detecting potential issues over time.
For those who live in wildfire-prone areas, Google is introducing Smart Ventilation. It can bring in fresh air when the air quality is healthy, and it’ll stop ventilation automatically if the air quality is unhealthy due to pollution or wildfire smoke.
Lastly, the Nest Learning Thermostat can monitor humidity levels in your home, reducing the risk of mold or condensation building up on your windows.
Price and availability
The Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Temperature Sensor are available for preorder on the Google Store for $280. Additional sensors can be purchased for $40 each, or $100 for a 3-pack. They’ll be available in the U.S. and Canada starting August 20.
The new thermostat comes in your choice of three colors: Polished Silver, Polished Obsidian, and Polished Gold.
