Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
One of the big themes at CES was the 'connected home' - basically manufacturers now treat WiFi as a given, in the same way as electricity in homes - so are busy connecting everything up and making it accessible
Being a leading edge chap, I went ahead and purchased a NEST - which is a home thermostat designed by one of the key men at Apple who developed the iPod, iPhone etc
Here it is on the wall at home
This thing is just a bloody marvel - lovely design and build quality - no instructions needed almost - easy to install (10 mins) - came with it's own screwdriver even!
It learns your heating use, how much your house looses energy, daily schedules etc, and programs itseld to keep you cofortable and save as much energy at the same time
It knows when you are out, and lowers the heating until you come back
It has proximity sensors that detect people in the room/house - and it powers up as you walk towards it - like HAL in 2001
It talks to the InterWebs via WiFi - knows the weather and adjusts the heating time for the house based on outside temp it get's online
You can see and control the unit from your browser, iPhone, iPad etc - from anywhere with InterNet
It emails you a detailed monthly energy use report, and shows where you saved energy
It tallies up your AC and heating and tells you when you need to clean filters etc.
It's the dog's do-dabs - but is expensive at $250
In the US and Canada now - UK shortly I understand
Nest | The Learning*Thermostat | Home
Time will tell if it saves more than it costs - but just for the gadget value I'm all in
Being a leading edge chap, I went ahead and purchased a NEST - which is a home thermostat designed by one of the key men at Apple who developed the iPod, iPhone etc
Here it is on the wall at home
This thing is just a bloody marvel - lovely design and build quality - no instructions needed almost - easy to install (10 mins) - came with it's own screwdriver even!
It learns your heating use, how much your house looses energy, daily schedules etc, and programs itseld to keep you cofortable and save as much energy at the same time
It knows when you are out, and lowers the heating until you come back
It has proximity sensors that detect people in the room/house - and it powers up as you walk towards it - like HAL in 2001
It talks to the InterWebs via WiFi - knows the weather and adjusts the heating time for the house based on outside temp it get's online
You can see and control the unit from your browser, iPhone, iPad etc - from anywhere with InterNet
It emails you a detailed monthly energy use report, and shows where you saved energy
It tallies up your AC and heating and tells you when you need to clean filters etc.
It's the dog's do-dabs - but is expensive at $250
In the US and Canada now - UK shortly I understand
Nest | The Learning*Thermostat | Home
Time will tell if it saves more than it costs - but just for the gadget value I'm all in
