Nest Learning Thermostat Third Generation on sale in the UK for £199
The latest version of the original smart thermostat has finally landed in Europe, several months after it was first unveiled.
Nest is still the most intelligent thermostat on the market.
Smart home company Nest Labs is bringing the latest version of its Learning Thermostat to Europe, several months after it initially went on sale in the US.
The third generation of the circular connected thermostat, which has received many accolades for its design, will be available in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium immediately. UK residents will be able to pick up the device for £199 from Google Store, Amazon, John Lewis, Dixons, Maplin, Screwfix and B&Q.
The latest version of Nest's original and most iconic product packs a larger display and better resolution than its predecessors. It also has an all-new far-field sensor for viewing time and temperature information from a distance.
Nest's Learning Thermostat was one of the original smart-home products, but since the device launched in 2011, competition in the smart thermostat market has significantly heated up. In spite of rival companies closing the gap, such as British Gas with the Hive, Nest's efforts still just about have the edge.
It took several years for the first Nest device to come to Europe after launching in the US. Each part of the world has different heating standards meaning the device had to be adjusted to meet regional requirements. Having overcome this initial challenge, the period between international launches has narrowed to just a couple of months for this latest iteration.
A benefit of this is that the Nest Thermostat has several features exclusive to Europe. It's possible, for example, to use the device to control a hot water tank in addition to central heating. Nest also now uses OpenTherm to enable two-way communication between compatible boilers and the thermostat. This lets the device work out the precise amount of gas to burn to reach or maintain the requested temperature.
"Millions of Nest homes around the world have saved approximately 4 billion kilowatt hours of energy compared to what they would have used if they'd left their thermostats at a consistent temperature," said Lionel Paillet, general manager of Europe for Nest, in a statement. "And today, with brand new software and hardware, our European customers can save even more while staying comfortable, thanks to remote hot water control and OpenTherm compatibility."