How does the nest thermostat save money?

Let’s start by looking at a conventional heating system. You set the temperature, you decide the times to come on and off. Many people turn their heating off after bed time then on in the morning again. Maybe there is a holiday mode, a one or two week schedule to organise and summer winter time clock adjustment. With the possibility of more adjustment times the system may be capable of reducing excess use.

The reality…there are too many options, the menu’s confusing, it’s set once and left alone. Close enough will do because it may well be inefficient but most importantly it works.

You might feel shy to ask for help. Gas engineers are expensive. Setting a timer shouldn’t cost a call out fee but it does so it is left alone.

However most professionals fitting a conventional programmer/timer systems are not aware of all features. Reading the instructions is definitely required to make sense of it. If you can’t find the instructions, say when moving into a new home you have to look online for the right PDF to download. Then try to understand and implement.

Yes, It would be easier on an app.

Cold home after a holiday?

Have you ever returned home from holiday in winter to a cold house? Warming up the home takes much longer than normal. Why is that?

Because the fabric of the building is at ambient temperature after being left so long.

People create heat: breathing, moving, we expel energy. Remember house parties? How hot it can get in a crowded room!

After a long period of being off, turning the heating on costs more money. This is because the boiler is working harder to warm up more than just the air in the house but also the walls, furniture, insulation, carpet on the floor….everything in the heating zone.

What sensors are in a Nest Thermostat?

People affect the building’s temperature…the Nest will adjust for occupants before they even arrive.

Humidity can have drastic effects on heating. The Nest learning thermostat has a humidity sensor.

The sun light beaming through a window onto most conventional thermostats will give a false reading due to heat radiation. The Nest learning thermostat has a sunlight sensor.

Because the Google Nest Learning Thermostat is online it has access to more information such as the weather which it uses to create more accurate and effective heating.

Science behind the thermostat

The first law of thermodynamics is given as ΔU = Q − W, where ΔU is the change in internal energy of a system, Q is the net heat transfer (the sum of all heat transfer into and out of the system), and W is the net work done (the sum of all work done on or by the system).

The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of any isolated system always increases.

Thermodynamics is the study of the relations between heat, work, temperature, and energy. The laws of thermodynamics describe how the energy in a system changes and whether the system can perform useful work on its surroundings.

That doesn’t mean much to most people. Theres a third law too, but your Nest has worked it all out. Let’s explain why its relevant.

How does the Nest Thermostat do it?

After installation, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat will start….learning. It will learn how quickly the home heats up to target temperature and how long it takes cooling down to the eco temperature.

To save energy, the Nest Learning Thermostat will turn down the heating when there is no one at home. To stop the winter holiday super chill effect (as mentioned before) the Nest Learning Thermostat does not turn your heating off. It turns it down to eco mode.

This drastically changes things when it comes to warming up again. With an eco temperature holding the heat in the building a little, it means much faster warm up. Compensating for the weather, ascertaining the optimal time to turn on the heating as you approach home is calculated by the thermostat.

The actual function of geofencing, eco temperatures and money saving is all in the background. With your home cosy and at the temperature you like, it always remains the same from the occupant’s point of view. The home’s temperature is exactly the same when you go out as when you come home. Every time you go out, a previously missed saving has just been made.

One Thermodynamics algorithm you shouldn’t be without!

Remembering to turn your heating off before a holiday feels like a win. Once or twice a year, that’s great!

Remembering to turn down the heating and then turn it back up before you get home would need to be remote controlled and most importantly for it to realistically work, automated.

Do your part to be more green, save money, save the planet and make your home look good doing it!

Nest Pro London, Nest Professional install your 3rd generation Google Nest Learning Thermostat for peace of mind and an effortless transition to an automated smart home.

With world ending global warming chatter! Get the temperature right. Could you do more? Help out! Buy now! Every eco moment matters!

By Mike from Nest Pro London