Nest Thermostat temperature display and other reflections

[ChuckA]

I just installed seven Nest thermostats in two houses.  I had been using Filtrate wifi connected thermostats for ten years, but they recently ended their cloud connection, rendering them useless for many of us. 

Here are my initial thoughts on the Nest.  I believe Nest has some serious work to do to make these as useful as they should be. 

1. The primary display should be the temperature in the room, NOT the target temperature!  Most of the time I know what the set temperature should be, because I set it. What I do not know is the actual temperature in the room.  This is particularly true if I am not in the room, or in the house.  When I am away from my house I want to know if the heat is working, and that requires the actual temperature not the set temperature. 

2. The Energy tab should record and graph the temperature. Knowing how long the system has been calling for heat is useful, but it is ten times more useful if the temperature is plotted on the same graph.  Again seeing the actual temperature, in this case verses time, is a tremendous help evaluating a heating or cooling system.  Filtrate did this and they had  minimalist software.  I can't believe Nest (Google), at the pinnacle of GUI and computing, has not implemented a temperature verses time display.  They surely collect the data.  And yes I could write my own code to download and display the data, but having it work over a range of devices is difficult if you are not the primary developer.  

3. There is something buggy about the battery function.  Three out of the seven Nest thermostats I installed displayed a low battery message after the first hour of use.  I changed the batteries and that cleared the error, but the batteries I removed had no load voltages over 1.6 V.  Furthermore the internal voltage measurement for the "bad" batteries on the Nest was over 1.5 V.  Something is not right.   

Just to balance some of these deficiencies, the installation was a breeze.  I hope given the excellent hardware development Nest will give us more useful software.

 Getting back to #1, every other thermostat I have ever seen displays the actual temperature. What is the thinking behind displaying the set temperature?  

[zoeuvre]

Hi ChuckA, 

Thank you for sharing your initial thoughts and experiences with the Nest Thermostats. We'll also take your feedback as an opportunity to learn and to be able to provide a better experience in the future. It's valuable feedback that can contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of these devices. I'll address your points and provide some insights:

1. It makes sense to prioritize displaying the actual temperature in the room, especially when you're away and want to ensure that the heating or cooling system is functioning properly. While the Nest Thermostat primarily displays the set temperature, you can view the current temperature by pressing the thermostat or accessing the Nest app. However, having the actual temperature as the default display could enhance the user experience, and your feedback highlights a potential improvement.
2. Including a temperature graph alongside the system activity information in the Energy tab would indeed provide valuable insights into the performance of your heating and cooling system. This could help identify patterns, variations, and potential issues. Your suggestion aligns with the concept of comprehensive data visualization, and it's an area where Nest could further enhance their software capabilities.
3. It's concerning that three out of the seven Nest Thermostats displayed low battery messages shortly after installation, even though the removed batteries showed acceptable voltage levels. This discrepancy could indicate a potential issue with the battery monitoring or reporting function. Are your using a high-quality 1.5 V AAA alkaline Energizer batteries for your Nest Thermostat? And does your thermostat has a C wire connected to its base? Also, gather the power readouts of VIN, IIN, PS-* under Settings > Equipment > Power Info. 

Regarding your question about displaying the set temperature as the default, it's difficult to determine the exact reasoning behind this design choice without official input from the Nest team. However, displaying the set temperature as the default may be intended to provide users with immediate visibility and control over their desired temperature settings. Nevertheless, your feedback highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing the actual temperature in the initial display.

Thank you for sharing your observations and suggestions. It's through valuable feedback like yours that companies can improve their products and better meet user needs.

Keep us posted.

Best,

Zoe