Everywhere we look these days there are things that need updating—some for appearance, some for function, and many for both.
One of those updates in our office was the old-fashioned thermostat on the first floor. With our new furnace in place, it felt like the right time to switch to something more energy efficient.
We’d previously swapped to a programmable thermostat at our first house, but this time the tech geek in me wanted to go further—especially after seeing so many people rave about their Nest thermostats. To my surprise, Sherry agreed, and soon I was holding one of these sleek devices.
For context, the Nest is a learning thermostat that records your habits—when you raise or lower the temperature, when you’re home or away—and builds an automatic schedule from that data. It can be more intuitive than a standard programmable thermostat and can save more energy by adjusting itself. It can even detect whether anyone is home and lower the temperature when the house is empty. Designed by people who worked on the iPhone, it includes several nice touches that I’ll mention later. I’d wanted one since their 2010 debut, but the price was always a deterrent. When Nest released its second generation, the original units dropped in price enough that I decided to buy.
After hunting around, I found first-generation units at a Lowe’s about 30 minutes away and drove over with a move-related coupon. We bought two Nests because we have separate systems upstairs and downstairs. Between the sale price, a $25 coupon, and a 5% discount for using a Lowe’s credit card, our cost per unit came down to $158. That’s still an investment, but compared to the newer $249 model it felt worth it—especially after our downstairs furnace replacement was covered by our home warranty, which freed us to spend the $300 total on thermostats after saving thousands on the furnace itself.
Installation made me slightly nervous. I’d read that Nest isn’t compatible with every HVAC system, and our upstairs unit is fairly old. I worried about damaging an expensive little device while swapping it in.
I started downstairs. Removing the old thermostat was straightforward: pull off the faceplate, then—after switching the power off at the breaker—unscrew the inner plate to reveal the wiring. Nest thoughtfully includes a small screwdriver in the box to make this step easier. (No sponsorship here—I’m just impressed.)
The wiring looked intimidating at first, but following Nest’s instructions removed most of the worry. They provide an installation video and an online compatibility check that walks you through whether your system will work with the Nest. Admittedly, I probably should have done the compatibility check before buying the units.
Good news: our systems were compatible. Nest even generated a personalized wiring guide based on our setup, which made it easy to know exactly where each wire belonged. The paper manual included wire labels in case you needed them; mine were simple enough that I didn’t use the labels, but it was a helpful touch.
I detached the wires, removed the remaining mount from the wall, and slid the Nest base into place. The base even has a tiny built-in level so you can ensure it hangs straight—simple but clever.
Following the personalized guide, I reinserted the wires using the spring-loaded tabs. The wiring process was quick and painless.
Then I snapped the Nest face into place and turned the power back on. The setup required a few steps, like selecting the type of heating system we have and connecting Nest to our Wi-Fi network. Typing in a long Wi‑Fi password was the only mildly tedious part, but that’s a small gripe.
Connecting to Wi‑Fi lets me control the thermostats from my phone. While I initially thought remote access would be useful mostly when traveling, I found myself adjusting the bedroom temperature from bed on the first night because it felt too warm—convenient and a little luxurious.
Nest says it takes a few weeks to learn your schedule, so we’re waiting to see how well it adapts to our habits. Given how much afternoon sun affects temperatures in parts of our house, I’m hopeful the learning feature will smooth out temperature swings.
I considered whether upgrading to the second-generation Nest would be worthwhile. Aside from broader HVAC compatibility and a few cosmetic tweaks—a slimmer profile, no small grill at the bottom, and a glossier finish that reflects wall color—the differences are mostly aesthetic. For us, the first-generation model met our needs and saved a significant amount of money.
Installing the upstairs unit brought a brief scare: a compatibility alert popped up during the online check. I followed the instructions, emailed a photo to Nest support, and a representative walked me through the correct wiring. Within minutes the issue was resolved.
All told, it took less than an hour to install both thermostats, photo stops included. I’m very pleased with the result.
One small disappointment: many localities offer rebates for energy-efficient devices like Nest, but ours didn’t have any available rebates when I checked. Still, we donated our old thermostats to Habitat for Humanity and can expect ongoing savings from improved heating and cooling efficiency.
Anyone else using a Nest? I’d love tips on setup or features you’ve found useful. And if you’ve made any tech upgrades lately, I’m always curious—though Sherry might prefer you keep the suggestions to yourself.
