Your Nest smart thermostat should get a little smarter at some point over the next week as the company rolls out version 4.3 of the software, providing improved auto-scheduling and faster access to info at-a-glance.
A single push of the ring displays the information shown above, which includes weather, outdoor temperature and humidity. This has, says Nest, been the biggest customer request, allowing them to check what they should wear before heading out in the morning. Getting access to additional information, like yesterday’s energy usage or tomorrow’s schedule, is now available simply by turning the ring left or right …
An enhanced version of the auo-schedule function, where the thermostat learns how & when you make temperature changes, should enable greater savings, says the company.
A system test function has also been added. Rollout of the update should be automatic, and you’ll know you’ve got it if you see weather info when you press the ring.
Auto-Schedule can now help you save up to 6% more on your heating and cooling bills by learning new schedules quickly and adapting to changes better. So when your schedule shifts–like when summer’s over and the kids are back at school–Nest can now catch on faster that the temperature adjustments you’re making are part of a new pattern rather than just one-off changes.
Competition in the smart heating and cooling market is growing, with rival offerings from Tado, Honeywell, Quirky Aros and others – and is likely to further increase when Apple’s smart home integration system HomeKit launches.
