She’s pretty tech savvy, she’s been using computers since the punch card days. But every now and then she’ll ask me silly questions like how to email pictures from her iPhone.
I've known about the Nest thermostat for awhile now but it never occurred to me it would be the perfect gift. They market it from an energy savings angle, and stuff like that doesn't interest me. My mom lives in Miami so I doubt the Nest would be much of an energy saving thing. During most of the year, especially in the summer the air conditioning is on all day. But to be honest, I didn’t really care... It looks beautiful and it’s connected to the internet, the cool factor does it.
I sent the Nest website to my Mom for the “OK” and she was amazed.
Nest is beautiful. Interacting with it is a delight. After it was installed I found myself adjusting it just to touch it. It’s really nice. The only negative, if I had to give one, is that the screen isn’t high resolution. Everything else with the hardware is awesome.
The hardest part to installing Nest had nothing to do with Nest
On the Nest website they have a guide tool. It walks you through the process of figuring out if you a/c is compatible with Nest. You can also email them pictures of your thermostat and they can figure it out for you.
Since the Nest is so nice, I wanted the wall to look perfect. When I removed the old thermostat I plastered, sanded and painted the wall (Home Depot color match paint is a lifesaver). It took hours to get the wall ready and was the longest and most annoying part. Installing the Nest took literally like 5 mins.
It's like the first time you used a remote to change the channel on your TV
The Nest is connected to the internet via your Wifi. After you install and set it up (zipcode, wifi password, software update and link your phone), you can control it from your phone or the Nest website. This is the my mom’s favorite feature. I think this is Nest's best selling point.
It also learns your daily routine and programs itself accordingly. It also provides reports and history stuff so you can totally nerd out on use stats of your house.
My Mom is super happy with it. It was fun installing it for her and it looks beautiful! It’s a bit on the pricy side.
I wanted to get my Mom a gift that she would use every day.
