Nest Labs continues to build its presence outside of the US after recently launching the Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in the UK.
The company founded by two former Apple employees involved in the creation of the iPod and the third generation iPhone, is finally bringing its energy-saving smart thermostat to the UK some two years after launching in the US and Canada.
A thermostat and programmer in one, the aim of the device is to encourage people to be more energy efficient with their heating. It can be set up to adjust heating conditions on certain days and includes sensors that can detect when you are not in the house to turn the heating off. According to Nest and its own research, using the smart thermostat can help make an annual saving from anywhere between 4% up to 29%.
Entering into the UK market has meant a re-think for the Nest thermostat system and that included the hardware. Now in two parts, there's the sleek, hockey puck-sized thermostat and a new Heating Link device that sits on the boiler. The Link communicates with the thermostat whether it's over either Wi-Fi or manually via cables.
Nest is also offering an optional stand (only in the UK) to prop it up on a bookshelf so you don't have to mount it to the wall. If you don’t fancy setting it all up yourself, Nest is offering a professional installation service option as well.
UK owners will be able to benefit from all the key features already available like creating schedules based on temperature changes and the ability to control settings from web, Android and iOS applications. There's now also a new UK-specific True Radiant mode that can crank on the heating early whether you have an underfloor radiant system or a radiator.
If you already own the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, it will also work together with the Protect switching off the boiler if the carbon monoxide alarm goes off eliminating the possible source of the poisonous leak.
As well as announcing availability, Nest also revealed that Npower would be its first UK energy partner making the smart technology available to its customers.
The Nest Thermostat is available to buy now from Apple, Amazon and stores like B&Q and John Lewis. The standalone thermostat package costs £179 but if you want it professionally installed that rises to £249. The optional stand will cost you £29.
MORE: Smart Thermostats in the UK: Nest and its rivals
