The Nest Learning Thermostat for a Smart, Connected Home {Review}

If my family ever moves from this house, I will argue strongly for two things.

1. We hire movers. We have so much stuff that just the idea of packing, carrying, transporting, etc makes me short of breath and completely overwhelmed.

2. I will spend less than 10 minutes uninstalling and removing our thermostat (and replacing it with our old one). Because now that I have had the opportunity to live with a Nest Learning Thermostat, there is no way to go back to one that doesn't sense my activity, learn my preferences, and can be adjusted in seconds right from my phone!

On a mission to create a home that's thoughtful — one that takes care of itself and the people inside it — Nest focuses on simple, beautiful and delightful hardware, software and services. Whether you install one of their thermostats, cameras or smoke + CO alarms, you can rest assured that your house will be connected with the only the highest quality.

Case in point, the third generation Nest Learning Thermostat. This incredible little device is more beautiful than ever, with a thinner, sleeker design and a bigger, crisper display. Even better? It is actually proven to help save energy! In independent studies, the Nest Thermostat saved an average of 10-12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. Who doesn't want that?

I, for one, couldn't wait to update my home with such a smart device.

Inside the small box, I found the Nest display, base, optional trim kit, mounting screws and labels, screwdriver, installation guide, welcome guide, and a Nest Pro installation card. It was time to get to work!

Nest states that it typically takes less than half an hour to install their Learning Thermostat, but I have to admit that I was fairly anxious about it taking longer (or not even being able to complete it on my own). After all, I am used to assembling toys or furniture, but working with electricity isn't a typical hobby of mine!

However, I was extremely happy to find that it didn't take 30 minutes to install my Nest, it only took around five! That was the only time needed to unscrew the old thermostat, label the wires, screw on the base of the Nest, reconnect everything, and plug on the display. It lit up immediately and began updating and getting used to our home!

From that day on, I have been smitten with the Nest.

Everything for setting up the device itself is done right from the large, bright, high-resolution touchscreen and I had no problem connecting it to my Netgear Nighthawk DST AC1900 Router and DST Adapter.

This new router was exclusively developed between Netgear, an industry leader in the networking world, and Best Buy, to help provide consumers with an easy, all-in-one solution to support their home's connected devices. With more and more wifi-dependent products in homes, there is an increase in the amount of stress put on personal networks, especially routers.

Therefore, the Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 was designed to not only support 10+ connected devices, but it comes with DST (Dead Spot Terminator) to eliminate wifi dead zones as well as Geek Squad Set Up and Support via phone and web, for one full year!

But back to the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Once I had the device set up, I quickly created an account on their website (providing me access and control from my laptop), followed by downloading their free app – available on iTunes or GooglePlay. I was then set to also manage my home's temperature from my phone or tablet no matter if I am near or far!

And the whole thing couldn't be much easier or more user-friendly!

If you prefer, you can begin by setting a traditional schedule that tells the Nest to accommodate your varying temperature preferences. Tell it when you wake up, leave the house, return home, go to sleep, and more.

But this is a smart, learning thermostat and that isn't necessary! There is actually no need to set your preferences as, within a week, the Nest starts programming itself. It learns your habits and adjusts automatically, regulating your home's temperature based on your schedule – which can save you energy and money. No hassle at all or work on your end!

Plus, when you're not at home (the Away mode), the Nest will automatically switch to an energy-efficient temperature (you set your initial high and low and it will abide by those). Even better, if you leave your house at a different time than usual, for instance if you go away for the weekend, and forget to change the temperature, the Nest will recognize that there is no one home and (Auto-Away) automatically turn itself down to avoid heating or cooling an empty home. I just love that!

No worrying about coming home to a cold house either, as you simply pull out your phone and tell the Nest when to start heating back up for your arrival!

While I had expected to be impressed by the Nest, I hadn't realized just how much I would appreciate having it in my home and knowing that it is working for us to save energy and money.

Along with being so incredibly simple to use, it provides me with our house's energy usage, tracking how much we have used and providing tips to help conserve. All I have to do is turn the heat down a degree (or the air conditioning up) and it notifies me that I've made an energy-saving temperature adjustment with its Nest Leaf display. That little leaf is a great motivator in pushing us in the right direction!

Along with our energy history, the Nest also monitors our heating/cooling equipment and alerts me if something is not working correctly or if our home gets dangerously hot or cold. Add to that the built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, power consumption of less than 1 kWh/month, and ability to provide the weather conditions occurring right outside and the Nest really does it all!

The Nest Learning Thermostat has helped save approximately four billion kWh of energy to date. Isn't it time it went to work for you, too?

Find out more about all of the great features and benefits the Nest can provide for you by visiting BestBuy.com, where this high tech device retails for $249.99 (some local utility companies offer rebates simply for switching to the Nest, so you may be able to save on that price)!

Don't forget to also pick up a Netgear Nighthawk DST AC1900 Router and DST Adapter to help your home stay fully connected and that Best Buy's Geek Squad service allows customers to call or get help online 24/7 whenever they want instead of needing to schedule an appointment.

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.