Nest Labs unveiled its third generation Nest Learning Thermostat today featuring a slimmer profile, a higher resolution display that's 40% larger, and a new user interface that makes it easier to read temperatures, alerts and messages. The device also brings Farsight, a new feature that automatically displays the target temperature or time when it senses movement in the room, and Furnace Heads-Up, which uses diagnostics to give advance notice about possible problems with a customer’s heating system.
“The Nest Learning Thermostat has been proven by third-party researchers to save people, on average, about 10 to 12 percent on their heating bills and about 15 percent on their cooling bills,” said Maxime Veron, head of hardware product marketing, Nest. “Millions of Nest homes around the world have saved approximately four billion kilowatt hours of energy compared to what they would have used if they’d left their thermostats at a consistent temperature. And the results are getting noticed - the 3rd generation Nest Thermostat will not only be available at 7,000 retail locations and from 25,000 Nest Pro installers, but through energy and enterprise partners such as Southern Company, Direct Energy, SunEdison, Infinite Energy, Reliant, and ADT - companies committed to helping their customers stay comfortable and save energy by offering the Nest Thermostat at a discount or at no cost.”
New Features
● Sleek new design - The Nest Thermostat has a 40 percent larger, brighter, high-resolution screen and new graphics so you can see it easier from far away. The crisp display has 229 pixels per inch (PPI), 25 percent more than the 2nd generation Nest Thermostat. The 3rd generation Nest Thermostat also has a slightly thinner profile to be more flush against the wall.
● Farsight – Previously, you had to be pretty close - about 3 feet (1 meter) away - to get the Nest Thermostat to wake up and turn on the display. Farsight takes advantage of the new highresolution screen so that you can see useful information on the Nest Thermostat from across the room. You can set the thermostat to display target temperature, an analog clock or digital clock, or turn Farsight off.
● Furnace Heads-Up – Most heating and forced air furnaces have an automatic shutoff to avoid overheating. The Nest Thermostat will look for shutoff patterns that indicate there’s a persistent problem and if so, you’ll get a Heads-Up message in the Nest app and on the thermostat screen twice per year, and you’ll also get a notice in your monthly Home Report. (Furnace Heads-Up will be available for 1st and 2nd generation customers later this year.)
The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat is available today at the link below for $249. Unfortunately, there's no mention of Apple HomeKit support in Nest's press release.
