Nest thermostats are now supported by Insteon, greatly expanding their capabilities

By Drew Prindle Published May 27, 2014

class action lawsuit nest claims thermostats dont work advertised thermostat — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our full written Nest Thermostat review.

Despite the fact that it’s arguably the most popular smart home gadget of all time, and helped encouraged consumers to jump on the connected home bandwagon, the Nest connected thermostat isn’t the most capable smart thermostat in the game. It’s got plenty of smart features and a beautifully simple UI, but it doesn’t currently speak any of the major home automation languages, so aside from your phone, it can’t really communicate with other smart devices in your home.

Until now, that is.

Recommended Videos

Insteon, creators of the popular home automation and control technology of the same name, announced in a press release today that its home automation gateway, the Insteon Hub, can now connect to Nest’s popular Learning Thermostat. With this added functionality, users can now incorporate Nest into their home automation setups and use it to automatically control things like lighting, security systems, and more.

This is a smart move for Insteon. The company already offers an extremely diverse catalog of smart home products (including a variety of networked thermostats), but it isn’t anywhere near as popular or well-known as Nest. The addition of Nest’s uber-popular thermostat to its home automation ecosystem will likely help Insteon attract people who only own a Nest, and encourage them to explore what’s possible with additional smart home gizmos.

“Nest Thermostat users know the tremendous value of home automation and can now easily build a truly connected home through our INSTEON Hub, devices and mobile app,” said Joe Dada, CEO, Insteon. “Our affordable and wide array of products expands the possibilities of home connectivity, monitoring and control for Nest users.”

If you’ve already got a Nest thermostat and are interested in doing more with it, check out Insteon’s smarthome blog to find all the awesome stuff you can connect it to.

Topics

Internet of Things (IoT)

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

Smart Home

What’s new on the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)?

The Nest Learning Thermostat 4th Gen on a wall.

After an early leak in July, Google has officially revealed the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen), with a scheduled release date of August 20 and a price tag of $280. It's making some nice upgrades to the existing Nest Learning Thermostat, the most noticeable of which is a new design. But aside from its flashy new appearance, what else is new on the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)? And if you already own a Nest Learning Thermostat, is it worth upgrading?

Here's a closer look to help you decide.
New design with an updated display

Smart Home

How to hold the temperature on the Nest Thermostat

Adjusting the temperature on the Google Nest Thermostat.

The Nest Thermostat has plenty of cool features, but one of its most basic features is the ability to hold the temperature constant in your home. While set to this mode, it will kick on your air conditioning to maintain the set temperature. For example, this allows you to hold the home at a constant 72 degrees, keeping it comfortable at all times of day. Oddly enough, this feature is not available on the Nest Thermostat E or Nest Learning Thermostat — but it's easy to use on the standard Nest Thermostat.

Smart Home

It looks like big changes are coming to the Nest Learning Thermostat

The leaked Nest Learning Thermostat

The Google Nest Learning Thermostat is one of the best smart thermostats on the market -- and it looks like it might be getting a massive overhaul later this year. Images leaked on X (formerly Twitter) show off a device with a borderless design, customizable home screen, and a new feature known as "Dynamic Farsight."

While nothing official has been announced by Google, these images and documents appear to be legit. And with the Made by Google event arriving on August 13, there's a very real possibility Google will give the next-gen Nest Thermostat a proper reveal in the coming weeks.