The Nest Thermostat is a step that is geared towards a more digital and automated age. With the ability to “sense” physical presence in a room, the temperature, humidity, and light levels, the Nest Thermostat will automatically adjust itself accordingly. It does this through a learning process of the owner’s daily routine and manual adjustments of the thermostat. With this capability, the Nest will save massive amounts of energy, money, and waste as thermostats are estimated to control have of the consumed energy in an average household. There are claims that the utilization of Nest can save up to 20 to 30 percent in energy consumption as it will be able to adjust itself in situations otherwise impossible to with a regular thermostat, such as when nobody is home.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) calculated that if a relatively modest 15 percent of total energy use is saved by every household in the U.S. starting today, by 2020 $46 billion would be saved. This figure says enough on its own as one can imagine all the different areas and uses that all that money could be allocated to. In addition to the monetary savings, energy loss and pollution such as carbon would be significantly reduced as a result.
A feature that has an unlimited of future technological implications is its remote control ability. Being able to adjust the Nest from anywhere, via the built-in Wi-Fi hardware in the thermostat, adds convenience and efficiency into the owner’s life. Instead of having to be physically present to adjust it, owners can control the thermostat from anywhere with the use of 3G of Wi-Fi. Another example of the remote control ability is a system and software that allows users to water their plants remotely. Not only does time not need to be allocated in performing the physical task, but exactly amounts of water and fertilizer can be added precisely through the software. With the Nest, all the data that is sent to and from the thermostat is gathered in a database where further analysis takes place.
With access to this vast amounts data, Nest Labs are able to constantly improve the thermostat and automatically update them through the built-in Wi-Fi. In addition, the information in these databases is accessible to owners of Nest Thermostats to observe their own behavior as well as share the information with others. People are now being connected through the thermostat, sharing their experiences, thoughts, problems, and suggestions. Before this technology, there would have never been such hype or conversation stemming from thermostats. Nilay Patel, an editor for news publication The Verge, summed it up with the phrase “social networking to save the earth.”
For the ever-changing technological field, this thermostat is just a small step, hinting of the even greater future products to come. Looking at the interaction created between users, it is exciting to imagine what social benefits more technological advanced products can bring to society. Maryanne Wolf wrote in Proust and the Squid, “The next few decades will witness transformations in our ability to communicate, as we recruit new connections in the brain that will propel our intellectual development in new and different ways... understand[ing] other human beings is especially important today as we make the transition from a reading brain to an increasingly digital one.” It sums up the importance of social connection and getting to know and understand each other as we progress into a digital age. New advanced technologies, such as the Nest Thermostat, certainly do promote social networking and intellectual development.
For more information about Nest, please visit: http://www.nest.com/
