Nest Thermostat

I obsess over small details, which is probably why my wife is driven crazy by me on a daily basis. I believe everything has a place and ought to be returned to that place at the end of the day. Yes, it’s part Adrian Monk and part Danny Tanner, but I can’t help my appreciation for simplicity, minimalism and organization.

Couple that with my love of digital toys and you’ll understand why I really want a Nest Thermometer. My house is already outfitted with a pretty slick thermometer that has a digital display and easy program settings. It’s amazingly simple to use and is as good as any thermometer can be. Or so I thought.

The Nest Thermometer literally breaks the traditional house thermostat out of its box. Aesthetically speaking, this thing is a work of art. I love the clean, round design with a large sans-serif temperature reading. Shelled in a gunmetal casing with using a turn-wheel dial to set the levels, it would be easy for anyone to think that Apple got into the thermostat business or that the thing stuck to wall controls the iMac upstairs. The design is a small touch, but like I said, that’s a big deal for me and goes a long way to making my home look and feel the way I would design it myself if I could.

I haven’t even touched on the geek factor. Rather than programming the temperature to a specific time on a set schedule, Nest simply adapts to your schedule. According to the Nest website, every time the temperature is set to a new level, the thermostat “learns” from the new setting and adjusts itself for future levels, setting the temperature to the right degree at the right time based on your settings. And, of course, if you hate what it’s learned from you, feel free to override it and it will just adjust again. Genius.

Like an infomercial…wait, there’s more! Toss in the ability to control the thermostat online or through your mobile phone and this thing is a Grade A energy saver. As it stands, Nest is probably the closest thing that we have to the elusive Smart Grid. I’d love to see this technology applied to other consumer electronics and appliances, such as dishwashers, washing machines and ovens.

It’s a thermostat, so how important can it be? I don’t know, but it’s a nice detail and represents a very cool promise for the future of technology and environmentalism.