Nest

Andi's a technology lover. He's always got the "latest and greatest" of anything as soon as it hits the market. Fine by me, really, because the last generation version of whatchamacallit usually gets passed down to me.

A few months ago, our old-school thermostat bit the dust and Andi installed a Nest thermostat. I didn't really care what thermostat he selected, so long as it functioned properly. Although I have to admit, I did do some eye-rolling over the "need" for a $250 thermostat. After having it in our house for a few months now, I have to say it's pretty awesome. (It should go without saying, I didn't get paid to write this post; I just really like how our new thermostat functions and wanted to share).

First, the Nest took Andi about three minutes to install without any frustration, so that's a big win. Not that my husband isn't capable of installing a thermostat, but you know how those things go ... home improvement projects almost always puts someone in a bad mood in our house.

It's really easy to adjust the temperature throughout the day by just turning the dial higher or lower. My favorite feature though, is the iPhone app which allows you to adjust the temperature from any location. As in, far away from your house. Yesterday we were driving home from the cabin and Andi said, "oh, I better turn on the heat since it's 55 [friggin'] degrees outside!" (Okay, I added the friggin' part because, seriously, come on Minnesota!) By the time we got home, our house was warmed up nice and toasty. I think we save quite a bit of energy, too, because I'm more apt to turn off the heat / air when I think about it ... usually after I've already left the house using the app on my phone. Nest also defaults to a pre-set "away" temperature after it hasn't seen any movement by the thermostat in X amount of time, so we'd save energy even if I didn't turn off the heat / air manually. As soon as it detects movement in its vicinity, it kicks back up to the "home" temperature.

There's all kinds of charts and graphs which show your energy usage available, if you're into that sort of thing. I think it's safe to say, we paid for the initial cost by now.

Technology is pretty crazy when you think about it. I often wonder what things will be like when Tory's my age. What kinds of thing will be old hat to her (Internet, cell phones) and what new things will help make her life easier. I never thought a digital thermostat would make me so happy, that's for sure. (Read also: I think I've officially become an adult if these are the things that get me going.) Good job, Husband, for adding a new piece of technology to our home which really makes my quality of life better.'

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Edited September 2013: We're on the budget plan for energy (we pay an average rate 12 months of the year vs. extreme highs or lows each month based on usage). In the last three months, our energy provider has credited our account $262 due to our "under-usage" of energy based on a 12-month average. The Nest has paid for itself and now we're just saving money. Love this!