Everybody loves the Nest thermostat. Or at least, they love the idea of it. Who wouldn’t want a futuristic thermostat with a brain that automatically adjusts to your habits and optimizes your energy usage? Well, a growing number of people say they’re encountering unexpected problems with their devices.
Kinja user AFSpecialSauce recently posted a well worded account of how his Nest went belly up in just a few months—and it broke his new air conditioner, too. The problem traces itself back to the unique thermostat in Nest’s base. It’s hard to tell if this specific story is a total fluke, but there’s plenty of evidence to show a trend in failures of Nest thermostats. Business Insider’s Jay Yarow encountered a problem with his Next that’s very similar to AFSpecialSauce’s, as did a number of people in Nest’s community forums.
We’re reaching out to Nest for more information—but what do you think? Have you heard of any similar reports? Or does this sound like run-of-the-mill malfunctioning for a small number of Nest users?
Update (05/14/14): We reached out to Nest when we first published this post. They got back to us a couple days later with a statement:
There are quite a variety of HVAC systems in homes and a small number of customers can experience system incompatibilities. We take each of these customers experiences seriously, we fully stand behind our product and provide 24/7 phone and email support to ensure any issues are handled on a case-by-case basis.
https://afspecialsauce.kinja.com/are-nest-thermostats-killing-air-conditioners-1574174163
