Summary
Google Nest Thermostat Update Adds HVAC Maintenance Notifications
Written by Jobe Leonard of Rescheck.info. Jobe enjoys all things related to Rescheck reporting and the study of home energy audit softwares like Rescheck, Comcheck, and Manual J.
On this issue of the Reschexpert blog, we want to discuss a setup I have in my own home and a recent notification I received from my Google Nest Thermostat. Last summer while installing a properly sized Goodman 2 ton unit at home using a Rescheck.info prepared Rescheck, Manual J, Manual S, and Manual D I took the plunge and upgraded my thermostat to the newest edition Google Nest Thermostat and 3 Google Nest Temperature sensors to zone the 4 corners of my home. My thought was that if I was going to upgrade my home with a newer model unit that it would make sense to have the latest technology available in my thermostat as well. You can see my setup below.
Basically the Google Nest Thermostat and Nest Sensors are nice because you can zone different areas of your home by making an individual sensor the priority. So instead of multiple systems or zones your entire HVAC environment is controlled instantly on your cell phone or computer. At the end of each month the thermostat will email you a copy of your monthly HVAC usage, how it compares to other users and your previous usage. Yesterday, I received the notification from my Google Nest Thermostat that it was going to begin notifying me of HVAC maintenance issues. You can see a screenshot of the email from Google Nest Thermostat.
What I think this means is that along with the monthly email that Google Nest Thermostat sends about its data collection from the Thermostat and Google Nest Thermostat sensors it is going to start notifying of perceived maintenance issues. It should be noted that the Google Nest Thermostat will already notify you of air filter changes via email so I expect this software update to move above and beyond simply reminding you to replace a filter. There is a disclaimer as you would expect that this should not replace the diagnosis of trained HVAC specialist, as you would expect. You can see the final part of the email from Google below and make your own speculations as what you think the Google Nest Thermostats new maintenance features will mean for you and your home.