I think it was an attempt to make the glass “float” vs be a cylinder coming out of the wall. Either way the execution was weak. I recessed mine into the wall so it sits almost flush and you don’t need a trim plate.
I love the large numbers that specify what they tell like indoor or outdoor. It’s way better than the 3rd gen. My dad likes to get confused that the big number is what the house is set to and tell me it’s cold because I have the heat set to 64 so it doesn’t turn on when the window air conditioners are on. These specifically say “indoor” and “set temperature”. I love that
Been us Ecobee for years and see nothing in the new Nest to interest me even a little bit. Don't forget that the smart sensors used by Ecobee can be used in automations in HK which can be useful. Frankly, the new Ecobee Premium, which I have in my home, looks pretty cool as well.
I think Ecobee has a lot of great features like the sensors you mention but their touch screens on the thermostats are very dated and their UI is not as nice a Nest.
As an HVAC technician, please do not buy a nest without having enough wires for common, or buy the nest power connector or a fast-stat to make one. I've had enough service calls where the power stealing "feature" has caused problems like blowing the 24v fuse and other issues.
As someone who worked with nest as their support team before google threw us aside i recommend 1. Always use a common wire because if you have a newer energy efficient system the charging off y1 will burn up your compressor 2. Never upgrade unless you have too 3. Remember they have a 3 year warranty and to use it the thermostat must be connected to an account.
Ecobee allows its sensors to be visible in Homekit, so there's no reason to go with Nest. Waiting for some quality outdoor cams that support multi-platforms and will get rid of Nest Cams. Google drops services too easily and increase prices on services too much for my taste.
Nest was a great product until google ! Cameras was great… Now you can’t use Nest app with new cameras! Everything has to go with google home app which is sloppy and slow! I’m waiting for new cameras to change everything!
@evinte, what is the best Ecobee Thermostat you recommend? I'm looking for the latest one with Homekit support and that is easy to set up. I would appreciate any link to the product. Thank you.
Thread is useless junk. It’s a solution without a problem. It’s technically just poorly designed. They’ve taken a bunch of great ideas and made it insanely noisy and inefficient. Bottom line is if I have a zigbee, or even better, espnow device, it runs for years without a battery swap and if designed properly works fantastically. Similar thread/matter devices tend to require batteries three times the size. Which you could have just done with zigbee (more power opens up more potential for low latency design) Also if they used zigbee you wouldn’t technically need any app at all. Argue with the market and physics.
@@threepe0 Thread is awesome. It's almost instant. On top of that, when I bought a thread HomePod, my thread enabled smart lock went from 2-3 months battery life, to almost 12 months. So thread is not useless junk.
I don’t understand why having Thread matters, especially when this has Matter. That means you can use the with HomeKit. Sure, setup, you’d have to use the Google Home app - but who cares? It’s not the worst thing and the new Google Home is built off of HomeKit (Apple gave HomeKits underpinning as part of their Matter support when developing Matter). And here’s the kicker: I actually like Google Home better than Alexa app or HomeKit. And I really don’t like the Alexa app but I also like HomeKit. Both GH and HK are nice, clean and relatively easy to use compared to Alexa.
On my 3rd ecobee and smart sensors already up and running with no issues. My bill is down even in crazy Chicago heat lately. Considering the door sensors next waiting for a sale as they are pricey. I feel that if they do what they say and turn off my hvac when my wife opens all the windows lol it a win win.
I connected my older Nest to Apple Home using Home Assistant through the Google API and it works great. I had a bunch of lights and power switch/sensors and other things all using Matter and Thread and I found them all very unreliable. They were always a pain to set up because half the time the code didn't work or there was some error or it couldn't find the device. Then once I did get them set up, they would lose connections all the time. 50/50 chance whether the lights would work when I tell them to do something. I think Matter is still just too new. All my lights are back on a Zigbee network in Home Assistant and it works amazingly. I bridge that whole thing back to Apple Home, so I can still use Siri and all my Apple commands, it just doesn't lose connection anymore like it used to.
I am a seasonal FL resident and use a Google Nest Tstat w/C wire to monitor the AC when gone. The AAA batteries die way to soon. I am debating upgrading between Gen 3 vs. 4 with lithium battery.
How is the battery on this? On a 2-wire system, previous learning thermostat becomes a paper weight once the non-replaceable battery can no longer power the thermostat...
I have a 3rd gen and starling hub currently. I would never update to a newer Nest thermostat. Google just doesn’t give it the support and updates they require. They seem to abandon the 3rd gen for way too long! I would go with Ecobee if I was upgrading.
looks a heck of a lot better than the Nest that had the flat mirror design. the glint off that must be terrible get blinded every time the sun hits it. i like the bubble design i still have a thermostat E and prefer the lowkey white look.
Good timing. Starting the research now for a new smart thermostat. I definitely want Apple Home capability. I still need to research the Ecobee options, which from what little I have seen is really the only other one to consider to the Nest.
I have an Ecobee in my Apple home. Easy to set up. App did an excellent job of walking me through everything. And if you need more help, call them. They have U.S. based HVAC engineers available to answer all your questions. I called before buying, just to be sure the Ecobee thermostat would work in my home. The guy had me go from my existing thermostat to my HVAC area. Asked about wire colors, assured me it would work. Then he emailed me three pages of detailed instructions. This was all before I even purchased an Ecobee product. A year later and the thermostat continues to perform flawlessly. You will want (need?) the Ecobee app. It adds a lot of functionality.
If I were to need a new one , not having an existing smart thermostat, maybe. I'd look at other options as well. I've had the Gen 3 for years now and it works great for my needs. An upgrade is not worth the cost... they are expensive for what I consider are minor updates over the Gen 3.
Ive had a tought time trying to decide which thermostat to buy and eventually landed on Nest. My only issue is that with other brands they tend to have smart valves for radiaters too which i assumed would work better with related thermostat. Which smart valves should i get to go with the nest? Or doesn't it really matter?
It’s a tough question. I think if you like the third generation and don’t need to integrate it in Apple Home and don’t plan to sell your house soon, then just keep it. In those other two circumstances the Matter compatibility would be worth it, but it’s always also increased time for you to do yet another install assuming you already set up the third gen.
Can you schedule which sensor is being used? That was one of the key reasons I switched to ecobee, I hated having to manually switch the sensor priority all the time. The other reason was the inability to set the temperature differentiator. The default 1 degree just mean my AC was kicking on non stop and driving me nuts.
I have them but not installed yet. I currently have 3rd generation, but for some reason the Nest app can no longer connect to them (they connect to the wifi just fine).
Nice review. Great presentation. I'm still not sure if I should upgrade my third gen. Any connection with apple doesn't interest me and it seems thats the reason you think many might upgrade.
No, the subscription is not applicable here. If you are a Georgia Power customer, you can get $200.00 off the original price of this device. Again, GA Power is located in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia only. Please check with your Utility company.
I had been so tempted by Nest for the looks, but no Thread, no Matter code in-box, and must setup with Google Home first, nah. Thanks for all this info!
way tooo reflective, can tell throughout the video, but maybe depends where you have it in your place. Good review. Interesting design, but will stick with my 3rd gen. Just really love the heat/cool setting on Nests....
I can use HomeKit and Matter with my iPhone 11 to make temperature adjustments (on previous Google nest non-learning plastic thermostat) while I’m in the house, but when I leave my Wi-Fi network, the HomeKit app won’t work. Also, my iPad 9 won’t work at all. It says I need a HomePod or Apple TV. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Eric, do you have a list of smart thermostats that don't require a C or Common wire? I have an older home and am looking for an option without the C wire. the nest looks like a nice option but would like to see what else is out there?
I just upgraded from a Gen 2 Nest thermostat (because the old one failed this week). Some items worth mentioning: -- The trim plate it ships with is a bit smaller than the trim plate that shipped with my Gen 2 device. Unfortunately, this will mean painting the wall. 😡 (And, BTW...searching Amazon didn't reveal ANY trim kits compatible with the Gen 4 Nest Learning thermostat). -- Small nitpick...we no longer get a screwdriver with them. -- Not as heavy as the Gen 2...doesn't feel as premium. -- The "stem" between the Gen 4 and the base/trim plate isn't the same colorway as the thermostat itself. For example, I chose the silver model, but the stem is white. While it's not visible when standing directly in front of the thermostat, it's clearly visible from the sides. I couldn't help but notice in your video (nice video, BTW) that the black model seems to have a black stem. Wish they'd done the same color match for the other colors. -- Not crazy about having to "ditch" the Nest app I've used since Gen 1, as the Gen 4 will ONLY work with the Google Home app. -- I like the Matter functionality, and plan to incorporate that into my HomeKit app soon. Thanks again for the excellent video!
I definitely like the design and matter on it. They should have gone all out though with having there sensors being able to be added with matter to HomeKit and also having those sensors include occupancy sensors. If they had all that it would be enough to make me upgrade to this but without that the price is too high to upgrade.
Every system is different, but the wires across systems all have letter labels. Nest and all other thermostats give you little stickers to label your wires and you put them into the corresponding spots in the new thermostat. I don’t think it’s too hard to upgrade but of course the first time is maybe a little more nerve-racking.
For what a smart thermostat does I’d really have a difficult time convincing myself I need an “upgrade”. I have a second gen nest and it looks nice and works great. If it does die I will get another smart thermostat, but really can’t say I’d either stay or leave the platform to another provider. It’s just a thermostat in the end.
I have 5 ecobee thermostats and I am super disappointed. I just can't believe how inaccurate the actual temperature is on all of them. Every single one is at least 2 degrees off and 2 of them are 7 degrees off. I adjusted them and they still fluctuate by a couple degrees.
@@jareds6611 As a measurement expert, I find your post interesting. What standard are you using to determine the true temperature? Two degrees in my book is not much but 7 degrees is horrible (it’s why I never use the HomePod Mini temp sensors - they are usually way off). I do not have a highly accurate gold standard for temperature so I use a more common method of multiple sensors from different manufacturers to estimate “true” temperature. My Eve devices tend to be the most accurate temp sensors, but the EcoBee sensors are either 0 or at most 1 degree off of the Eve sensors in all of my rooms (and the degree of separation varies throughout the day and across rooms, as I would expect).
@@Dr_Cole it all started with the master bedroom. Long story but we had geothermal installed when we completely remodeled our house and added a 4000 sq ft addition in our house. One HVAC unit for the first floor and basement, one for the second floor but had 5 zones between them. HVAC company screwed up on the calcs and the MB was always cold (Winter). The other upstairs bedrooms were cold also but was maintaining temps according to the ecobee. I woke up one morning and the MB said 56 degrees and the heat was running ALL night but it felt warmer than that, I mean 56 is freaking cold in a bedroom! I bought a cheap digital thermostat on Amazon just to double check. Sure enough it was 7 degrees off so I checked the other thermostat upstairs and it was 7 degrees off. I adjusted it in the ecobee settings and it was ok until summer (AC) came and it was off again by 4-5 degrees, both of them so I adjusted again. The other 3 thermostats were about 2 to 5 degrees as well. The HVAC company did put in a 3rd unit and had to add another geothermal loop in the yard at their expense, A huge screw up but not relevant to the thermostats. Even now, after adjusting the temps in the settings I am looking at one thermostat that has a difference of 2 degrees. These are all on interior walls near the return vents so it's not outside air, it's just terrible calibration with ecobee. I had nest thermostats before the geothermal and they were perfect or at least I didn't notice. I wanted to stick with nest, I even told the HVAC company to just put cheap thermostats in and I will replace with nest. They did, then one day when they came to install the registers after paint I came home and I had ecobees installed so I just left them. I think I will replace them with nest when I see a sale or something. I can't justify spending 1100 bucks on thermostats right now but I can never recommend an ecobee thermostat or anything else from them after this experience. I probably should have called customer service to express my frustrations but I did look online and there are certainly a lot of complaints with ecobee for this same reason.
Would’ve liked more information about the materials themselves used in the upgraded device and discussion about how that felt hands-on - is the ring still steel? Is the bubble glass? If it’s just schlocky plastic, I’m less interested.
If the front cover is plastic, they certainly did a good job hiding it. It looks like glass. The other ring is metal that looks a lot like chrome bathroom fixtures in my silver finish choice
2x Gen 3 owner for many years & hate how the damn battery keeps dying! Gerrrrrrr! >.< But now we have the new 4th. What's Matter? & why can I not connect it to the original Nest app? It's forcing me to do it through the Google Home app. I'm not familiar with it. I hate change! Don't force me! I'm used to the previous app its simple easy! 😒🙄
I heard the 4th Gen no longer communicates with the nest protects so the furnace will not turn off if there is smoke or carbon monoxide. this upgrade is not worth it from the version I have
I have the previous version. Just wondered if the new 4th get would just 'pop into' the wall socket from the older version without unhooking any wires etc.
I already had the nest learning thermostat. And I hope they send updates to it, which is a big problem with buying electronics. They never send updates. So my answer to if I'm going to buy a new or upgraded the answer is no a big no. Why should I buy a new one when I already have one...
They still need to change the sensor programming to be more granular. I want the bedroom sensor to switch when I go bed. Not 9pm to 7am ( their definition of night).
The temperature is great, but the only problem I have with this, if the sensor is in my bedroom, and it's hot in the bedroom, this just means that its going to freeze the living room to get the bedroom to the desired temperature. unless you are going to invest in automated vents or duct valves...
Using a temperature sensor to detect whose in the room or schedule to use the sensor in the bedroom may have limitations if you live with other people like most families or even if you have roommates.
I upgraded from a 3rd gen thermostat and there are some downsides: 4th gen not compatible with 3rd gen mounting hardware, so it's not plug and play, but requires a complete new hardware install. The wiring is not (necessarily) the same as the 3rd gen thermostat either. I had to contact Google to determine why my humidifier wasn't working. Google Home does not have a dedicated App for PC use, there are workarounds, but it is awkward. I miss the dedicated Nest App, the Google Home software just doesn't feel as "polished"
Forgot to add the upsides: Programmable temperature band. The +/- 1 degree on the 3rd generation felt like +/- 1.5 degrees. On the 4th generation you can set the band from .3 degrees to 1.5? degrees. This should add to the overall comfort level in the house (I haven't' noticed a difference yet). There is now a HOLD temperature setting.... the lack of this ability on the Gen 3 was very annoying. Easier to read and the thermostat is cooler than the gen 2 (IMHO).
I have an outside wood burner with a geothermal system. Does anyone know if this thermostat or others would allow just the fan to come on, let's say, 70 degrees when calling for heat and only turn on geothermal if it reaches 72 degrees?
I just upgraded from gen1 nest…i cant find the filter reminder setting on the gen4 an i can’t connect it on the google nest app. I can Only control it from google home app unlike my old thermostat.
never heard of "thread" or "matter" before this video, i guess it's time to do some reading also, my problem with the Nest thermostat concept is that it's super-cool to have this sexy-looking round thing on the wall you can grab and twist to quickly change the temperature, but quickly and frequently changing your thermostat temp is exactly what you _don't want to do!_ for efficiency and the longevity of your HVAC that's something that should be thought out and programmed to where it's not changing so often, then _left alone_ the nest has ergonomics that nudge you into "bad behavior" from the standpoint of your heating and cooling system
I didn’t have luck with the previous nest thermostat. It would abruptly turn off the air conditioner and a second later turn the unit back on. I had an HVAC company come out and tell me they don’t recommend them due to a lot of issues people have with their heating/cooling systems. He recommended Emerson Sensi. I purchased one and never looked back. No issues whatsoever.
having matter support but not official apple home kit support means limited capability within HomeKit and you're better off just using the native app. Ecobee has better support within HomeKit as it was built from the ground up to support it.
Maybe if they added support for variable speed, error handlers and heat pumps. All these years later they've decided not to add something to make that a possibility. Or so it seems.
Heat pump works fine. Variable speed air handler as well. I’m not sure about the condensing unit, mine is 2 stage instead of variable speed. Many variable speed (aka inverters) require proprietary thermostats that are fully communicating. Bosch doesn’t but they recommend you don’t use a smart thermostat with their IDS systems.
I love the screen and display. But HATE how far it is from the wall. That alone makes it a hard sell for me. But add in required Google Home, and I'm even more dead set against it. (Almost as much as I'd be dead set against anything that requires Alexa setup) I have a 2nd Gen Nest that I've wanted to upgrade, but I refuse to convert my Nest account to a Google one. I guess when they finally pull the rug out from my old Nest, I'll be moving to EcoBee.
My biggest complaint about these newer Nest items is they don't allow you to use the original Nest App. They force you to you the Google Home app which sucks! The original nest app is so much better!
In the past people were saying matter support would be added for legacy devices, that's like saying a wifi 6e device would get wifi 7 support with a software update, so needless to say this hasn't and won't happen for a variety of reasons. You have to replace everything with devices that have matter support in reality.
True. Netatmo had to replace their v2 weather stations to v3 in order to enable Homekit integration as a chipset was missing. On the other hand, Philips juct enabled Matter on their v2 bridge. However, the Nest 3rd gen thermostat already supports Thread natively and can theoretically communicate with matter devices. Google has just chosen to never enable the integration in order to push its newer merchandise. And this is all you need to know about app based "smart" home equipment. The manufacturers choose to create more e-waste by not supporting older (but not legacy) hardware.
Thanks for the excellent review. I agree with almost all the comments here. I have gen 3 and don't see enough improvements to make me upgrade. Plus I think it is to pricey. I also wish they would let us have temperature increments of .5 degrees. The reason is when I set my Nest gen 3 to 78 degrees we get to cold. But in when we set it to 79 we get to hot. Or maybe let the user set the increment from when the room temp changes when the AC turns on/off. One more simple thing. For years I have been asking Google (feedback) to let me turn on the fan-only for 5 minutes. You can currently only turn it on for only 15 minutes at a minimum.
Horrible advice if something is better that is more efficient or makes your workflow much more productive thus earning more money for less effort or something that makes you more efficient where it literally makes money that it absolutely is more efficient. About a 25% more efficient thermostat from an old one on a $400 a month gas bill in the winter mix back money in a single winter.
Been doing H-vac since I was 5 born into the trade . I use a eco bee pro & it knows when I leave the house & return via Wi-Fi & saves me 20-30 hours of run time a month without going into the app and turning it off myself .( It gives me a monthly update of run time/energy saved ) Not trying to sell anything other than your comment is flawed , one man’s opinion. My T-stat paid for itself with in the first 3 months 👍
I hate the fact that the base sticks out the wall so much, compared to the 3rd gen which is flush with the device
It looks like the same height it's just the perception of size has changed
agreed!!!
@@ubacow7109 either way it looks funky and stands out in a bad way...
It's cost cutting as well. They replaced metal with plastic.
I think it was an attempt to make the glass “float” vs be a cylinder coming out of the wall. Either way the execution was weak. I recessed mine into the wall so it sits almost flush and you don’t need a trim plate.
Never really addressed the question if it’s worth the upgrade. Based on the title I thought he was going to compare them.
Damn video titles!!!
It is
Seriously…
9:48
@@cody7068 NOPE....I don't need to know it looks better or the UI is better.. But how does it FUNCTION better.
I love the large numbers that specify what they tell like indoor or outdoor. It’s way better than the 3rd gen. My dad likes to get confused that the big number is what the house is set to and tell me it’s cold because I have the heat set to 64 so it doesn’t turn on when the window air conditioners are on. These specifically say “indoor” and “set temperature”. I love that
I agree Matt! It’s a great update to the design
Been us Ecobee for years and see nothing in the new Nest to interest me even a little bit. Don't forget that the smart sensors used by Ecobee can be used in automations in HK which can be useful. Frankly, the new Ecobee Premium, which I have in my home, looks pretty cool as well.
I think Ecobee has a lot of great features like the sensors you mention but their touch screens on the thermostats are very dated and their UI is not as nice a Nest.
@@EricWelanderstill is not worth upgrading a thermostat!
As an HVAC technician, please do not buy a nest without having enough wires for common, or buy the nest power connector or a fast-stat to make one. I've had enough service calls where the power stealing "feature" has caused problems like blowing the 24v fuse and other issues.
I had to rewire my thermostat to use the previous version.
Good point. A lot of older homes have old wiring and are only 3 and 4 conductors.
Have the 3rd gen nest learning thermostat and dont feel like theres a ton of difference. Ours has worked great for years without a hiccup.
As someone who worked with nest as their support team before google threw us aside i recommend 1. Always use a common wire because if you have a newer energy efficient system the charging off y1 will burn up your compressor 2. Never upgrade unless you have too 3. Remember they have a 3 year warranty and to use it the thermostat must be connected to an account.
Ecobee allows its sensors to be visible in Homekit, so there's no reason to go with Nest. Waiting for some quality outdoor cams that support multi-platforms and will get rid of Nest Cams. Google drops services too easily and increase prices on services too much for my taste.
Yup, self hosted / sovereignty is the way forward.
Too bad it's ugly, if they made one like the original nest they'd win the market.
Nest was a great product until google ! Cameras was great… Now you can’t use Nest app with new cameras! Everything has to go with google home app which is sloppy and slow! I’m waiting for new cameras to change everything!
@evinte, what is the best Ecobee Thermostat you recommend? I'm looking for the latest one with Homekit support and that is easy to set up. I would appreciate any link to the product. Thank you.
@@anilkumar1971 Why don't you ask that on an Ecobee video thread? Inappropriate, but that's expected
No thread. Have to use the Google app, at least to set it up. I will definitely stick with my Ecobee
Thread is useless junk. It’s a solution without a problem. It’s technically just poorly designed. They’ve taken a bunch of great ideas and made it insanely noisy and inefficient.
Bottom line is if I have a zigbee, or even better, espnow device, it runs for years without a battery swap and if designed properly works fantastically. Similar thread/matter devices tend to require batteries three times the size. Which you could have just done with zigbee (more power opens up more potential for low latency design)
Also if they used zigbee you wouldn’t technically need any app at all.
Argue with the market and physics.
Same here
@@threepe0 Thread is awesome. It's almost instant. On top of that, when I bought a thread HomePod, my thread enabled smart lock went from 2-3 months battery life, to almost 12 months. So thread is not useless junk.
I don’t understand why having Thread matters, especially when this has Matter. That means you can use the with HomeKit. Sure, setup, you’d have to use the Google Home app - but who cares? It’s not the worst thing and the new Google Home is built off of HomeKit (Apple gave HomeKits underpinning as part of their Matter support when developing Matter). And here’s the kicker: I actually like Google Home better than Alexa app or HomeKit. And I really don’t like the Alexa app but I also like HomeKit. Both GH and HK are nice, clean and relatively easy to use compared to Alexa.
On my 3rd ecobee and smart sensors already up and running with no issues. My bill is down even in crazy Chicago heat lately. Considering the door sensors next waiting for a sale as they are pricey. I feel that if they do what they say and turn off my hvac when my wife opens all the windows lol it a win win.
I connected my older Nest to Apple Home using Home Assistant through the Google API and it works great. I had a bunch of lights and power switch/sensors and other things all using Matter and Thread and I found them all very unreliable. They were always a pain to set up because half the time the code didn't work or there was some error or it couldn't find the device. Then once I did get them set up, they would lose connections all the time. 50/50 chance whether the lights would work when I tell them to do something. I think Matter is still just too new. All my lights are back on a Zigbee network in Home Assistant and it works amazingly. I bridge that whole thing back to Apple Home, so I can still use Siri and all my Apple commands, it just doesn't lose connection anymore like it used to.
How does it differ, besides looks, from Gen3? Is it worth changing?
love the New Thermostat Works Nice- Looks Great!
Would love it, so really frustrating that it's not available for the UK!
I'll be sticking with my 2nd Gen
I am a seasonal FL resident and use a Google Nest Tstat w/C wire to monitor the AC when gone. The AAA batteries die way to soon. I am debating upgrading between Gen 3 vs. 4 with lithium battery.
Still rocking the 3rd gen nest since it came out and never had an issue. But man i think i am going to get this one its so purdy 😊
How is the battery on this? On a 2-wire system, previous learning thermostat becomes a paper weight once the non-replaceable battery can no longer power the thermostat...
Love your classic iMac poster.
Thank you!
I been thinking about buying these product but it's too pricey for me but I want to buy it after this video thanks
I have a 3rd gen and starling hub currently. I would never update to a newer Nest thermostat. Google just doesn’t give it the support and updates they require. They seem to abandon the 3rd gen for way too long! I would go with Ecobee if I was upgrading.
Awesome video thanks for all the info.
looks a heck of a lot better than the Nest that had the flat mirror design. the glint off that must be terrible get blinded every time the sun hits it. i like the bubble design i still have a thermostat E and prefer the lowkey white look.
Thank you so much sir,
I like this new thermostat .
Very fast & more features in this thermostate
Love that light in the corner. What is it?
Good timing. Starting the research now for a new smart thermostat. I definitely want Apple Home capability. I still need to research the Ecobee options, which from what little I have seen is really the only other one to consider to the Nest.
I have an Ecobee in my Apple home. Easy to set up. App did an excellent job of walking me through everything. And if you need more help, call them. They have U.S. based HVAC engineers available to answer all your questions. I called before buying, just to be sure the Ecobee thermostat would work in my home. The guy had me go from my existing thermostat to my HVAC area. Asked about wire colors, assured me it would work. Then he emailed me three pages of detailed instructions. This was all before I even purchased an Ecobee product. A year later and the thermostat continues to perform flawlessly. You will want (need?) the Ecobee app. It adds a lot of functionality.
Going to be moving at the end of September. Can’t wait to install this in the new crib.
Can I get it in UK? I can't even buy the 3rd Gen in UK anymore.
My 3rd gen just died. Stopped sending power to furnance. Guess jm upgrading to 4th gen and ditchnng the nest app finally.
Eric, how hard would it be to replace a gen 2 Nest thermostat with a new gen 4?
If I were to need a new one , not having an existing smart thermostat, maybe. I'd look at other options as well. I've had the Gen 3 for years now and it works great for my needs. An upgrade is not worth the cost... they are expensive for what I consider are minor updates over the Gen 3.
Ive had a tought time trying to decide which thermostat to buy and eventually landed on Nest. My only issue is that with other brands they tend to have smart valves for radiaters too which i assumed would work better with related thermostat. Which smart valves should i get to go with the nest? Or doesn't it really matter?
Is the 4th Gen better then the 3rd Gen for multizone?
I won't be upgrading. My Ecobee has been working fine for the past 7 years and HomeKit works great!
That’s great! If it’s not broken don’t fix it
I just picked up a gen 3 and realized there's now a gen 4. I'm still within my return window, would it be worth upgrading to gen 4?
Absolutely. I was going to get the 3rd on sale but waited instead
@kylebrandon2009 thanks for the reply, any specific reasons you decided to wait? It's a little over $100 with the deal I got on the 3rd
It’s a tough question. I think if you like the third generation and don’t need to integrate it in Apple Home and don’t plan to sell your house soon, then just keep it. In those other two circumstances the Matter compatibility would be worth it, but it’s always also increased time for you to do yet another install assuming you already set up the third gen.
Do they have smart TRV valves for radiators?
Can you schedule which sensor is being used? That was one of the key reasons I switched to ecobee, I hated having to manually switch the sensor priority all the time. The other reason was the inability to set the temperature differentiator. The default 1 degree just mean my AC was kicking on non stop and driving me nuts.
I have them but not installed yet. I currently have 3rd generation, but for some reason the Nest app can no longer connect to them (they connect to the wifi just fine).
Nice review. Great presentation. I'm still not sure if I should upgrade my third gen. Any connection with apple doesn't interest me and it seems thats the reason you think many might upgrade.
Do you have to do a paid subscription with this in order for you to make the thermostat work?
No, the subscription is not applicable here. If you are a Georgia Power customer, you can get $200.00 off the original price of this device. Again, GA Power is located in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia only. Please check with your Utility company.
Is it possible for Matter over thread capabilities to be pushed to this via an update in the future?
Beautiful design. As were the past nest devices. I have the latest ecobee premium with Siri and I’ll be staying with that investment for now.
Wonder if they fixed the problem with the O wire randomly not being available?
My only issue with it so far is that the screen is pretty dim with no option for adjustment like the previous model.
That’s a good point!
I had been so tempted by Nest for the looks, but no Thread, no Matter code in-box, and must setup with Google Home first, nah. Thanks for all this info!
Thanks Stephen! That makes sense.
Updating from the previous version,is difficult?
way tooo reflective, can tell throughout the video, but maybe depends where you have it in your place. Good review. Interesting design, but will stick with my 3rd gen. Just really love the heat/cool setting on Nests....
If you are in front of the thermostat I haven’t seen an issue but yes, off-angle viewing isn’t anything close to a flat panel TV
I can use HomeKit and Matter with my iPhone 11 to make temperature adjustments (on previous Google nest non-learning plastic thermostat) while I’m in the house, but when I leave my Wi-Fi network, the HomeKit app won’t work. Also, my iPad 9 won’t work at all. It says I need a HomePod or Apple TV. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Eric, do you have a list of smart thermostats that don't require a C or Common wire? I have an older home and am looking for an option without the C wire. the nest looks like a nice option but would like to see what else is out there?
I have many Alexa items in my house. Will be needing three thermostats. Is it usable with Alexa, mostly voice commands? Thanks
Can they control multiple heating/cooling devices/systems? For example if we have AC in the upper floors but radiators on the lower floor?
I just upgraded from a Gen 2 Nest thermostat (because the old one failed this week).
Some items worth mentioning:
-- The trim plate it ships with is a bit smaller than the trim plate that shipped with my Gen 2 device. Unfortunately, this will mean painting the wall. 😡 (And, BTW...searching Amazon didn't reveal ANY trim kits compatible with the Gen 4 Nest Learning thermostat).
-- Small nitpick...we no longer get a screwdriver with them.
-- Not as heavy as the Gen 2...doesn't feel as premium.
-- The "stem" between the Gen 4 and the base/trim plate isn't the same colorway as the thermostat itself. For example, I chose the silver model, but the stem is white. While it's not visible when standing directly in front of the thermostat, it's clearly visible from the sides. I couldn't help but notice in your video (nice video, BTW) that the black model seems to have a black stem. Wish they'd done the same color match for the other colors.
-- Not crazy about having to "ditch" the Nest app I've used since Gen 1, as the Gen 4 will ONLY work with the Google Home app.
-- I like the Matter functionality, and plan to incorporate that into my HomeKit app soon.
Thanks again for the excellent video!
Can the Apple Homepod temperature sensors be used by the Nest?
How does it work for a variable speed?
Eric; how to add 4th gen thermostat to NEST APP LAYOUT?
Will this work with daikin ?
Any idea if it supports hydronic slab boilers (water, not electric)?
Wish there was a way for it to work with my Mini splits
We have two units in our house. I assume if we get these (upstairs and downstairs) they'll coordinate and work together?
I only have one zone but I think you can automate them both together like you’re speculating
I definitely like the design and matter on it. They should have gone all out though with having there sensors being able to be added with matter to HomeKit and also having those sensors include occupancy sensors. If they had all that it would be enough to make me upgrade to this but without that the price is too high to upgrade.
Did I miss that, they still don’t detect occupancy?
@@veryous nope. No occupancy sensor.
Does it work with the original nest app?
Is it really that easy to set up for a novice user?
Every system is different, but the wires across systems all have letter labels. Nest and all other thermostats give you little stickers to label your wires and you put them into the corresponding spots in the new thermostat. I don’t think it’s too hard to upgrade but of course the first time is maybe a little more nerve-racking.
For what a smart thermostat does I’d really have a difficult time convincing myself I need an “upgrade”. I have a second gen nest and it looks nice and works great. If it does die I will get another smart thermostat, but really can’t say I’d either stay or leave the platform to another provider. It’s just a thermostat in the end.
I wish there was a reason asdie rom looks to upgrade, but there does not appear to be. ill stock with gen 3
Ecobee just works. Set it and forget it. Until something radically changes, I don’t see changing away from my Ecobee 3.
I have 5 ecobee thermostats and I am super disappointed. I just can't believe how inaccurate the actual temperature is on all of them. Every single one is at least 2 degrees off and 2 of them are 7 degrees off. I adjusted them and they still fluctuate by a couple degrees.
@@jareds6611 As a measurement expert, I find your post interesting. What standard are you using to determine the true temperature? Two degrees in my book is not much but 7 degrees is horrible (it’s why I never use the HomePod Mini temp sensors - they are usually way off). I do not have a highly accurate gold standard for temperature so I use a more common method of multiple sensors from different manufacturers to estimate “true” temperature. My Eve devices tend to be the most accurate temp sensors, but the EcoBee sensors are either 0 or at most 1 degree off of the Eve sensors in all of my rooms (and the degree of separation varies throughout the day and across rooms, as I would expect).
@@Dr_Cole it all started with the master bedroom. Long story but we had geothermal installed when we completely remodeled our house and added a 4000 sq ft addition in our house. One HVAC unit for the first floor and basement, one for the second floor but had 5 zones between them. HVAC company screwed up on the calcs and the MB was always cold (Winter). The other upstairs bedrooms were cold also but was maintaining temps according to the ecobee. I woke up one morning and the MB said 56 degrees and the heat was running ALL night but it felt warmer than that, I mean 56 is freaking cold in a bedroom! I bought a cheap digital thermostat on Amazon just to double check. Sure enough it was 7 degrees off so I checked the other thermostat upstairs and it was 7 degrees off. I adjusted it in the ecobee settings and it was ok until summer (AC) came and it was off again by 4-5 degrees, both of them so I adjusted again. The other 3 thermostats were about 2 to 5 degrees as well. The HVAC company did put in a 3rd unit and had to add another geothermal loop in the yard at their expense, A huge screw up but not relevant to the thermostats. Even now, after adjusting the temps in the settings I am looking at one thermostat that has a difference of 2 degrees. These are all on interior walls near the return vents so it's not outside air, it's just terrible calibration with ecobee. I had nest thermostats before the geothermal and they were perfect or at least I didn't notice. I wanted to stick with nest, I even told the HVAC company to just put cheap thermostats in and I will replace with nest. They did, then one day when they came to install the registers after paint I came home and I had ecobees installed so I just left them. I think I will replace them with nest when I see a sale or something. I can't justify spending 1100 bucks on thermostats right now but I can never recommend an ecobee thermostat or anything else from them after this experience. I probably should have called customer service to express my frustrations but I did look online and there are certainly a lot of complaints with ecobee for this same reason.
Same here.
@@Dr_Cole If one wants to measure air temperature with absolute accuracy and high precision, what would be the instrument to use, and approx cost?
Would’ve liked more information about the materials themselves used in the upgraded device and discussion about how that felt hands-on - is the ring still steel? Is the bubble glass? If it’s just schlocky plastic, I’m less interested.
If the front cover is plastic, they certainly did a good job hiding it. It looks like glass. The other ring is metal that looks a lot like chrome bathroom fixtures in my silver finish choice
Does this use the Nest App for Android like the previous version?
2x Gen 3 owner for many years & hate how the damn battery keeps dying! Gerrrrrrr! >.< But now we have the new 4th. What's Matter? & why can I not connect it to the original Nest app? It's forcing me to do it through the Google Home app. I'm not familiar with it. I hate change! Don't force me! I'm used to the previous app its simple easy! 😒🙄
I heard the 4th Gen no longer communicates with the nest protects so the furnace will not turn off if there is smoke or carbon monoxide. this upgrade is not worth it from the version I have
I have the previous version. Just wondered if the new 4th get would just 'pop into' the wall socket from the older version without unhooking any wires etc.
It will not, unfortunately.
The gen 3 wire plate is too big for the gen 4 so you'd have to swap it out
I already had the nest learning thermostat. And I hope they send updates to it, which is a big problem with buying electronics. They never send updates. So my answer to if I'm going to buy a new or upgraded the answer is no a big no. Why should I buy a new one when I already have one...
They still need to change the sensor programming to be more granular. I want the bedroom sensor to switch when I go bed. Not 9pm to 7am ( their definition of night).
@Eric welander Where is your floor lamp from?
Discontinued brand on Amazon…sorry!
How much are the extra sensors?
The temperature is great, but the only problem I have with this, if the sensor is in my bedroom, and it's hot in the bedroom, this just means that its going to freeze the living room to get the bedroom to the desired temperature. unless you are going to invest in automated vents or duct valves...
You are exactly correct
I love ours, but it's such a bad integration on Homekit, the fan feature is not exposed. Google botches it again.
Is there a way to have it use external sensors for the “Auto Away” feature?
It uses the thermostat, your phone, and any nest protect you have in the house to detect if someone is home or not.
Does the ecobee need the C-wire for installation?
Yes it does
Using a temperature sensor to detect whose in the room or schedule to use the sensor in the bedroom may have limitations if you live with other people like most families or even if you have roommates.
I upgraded from a 3rd gen thermostat and there are some downsides: 4th gen not compatible with 3rd gen mounting hardware, so it's not plug and play, but requires a complete new hardware install. The wiring is not (necessarily) the same as the 3rd gen thermostat either. I had to contact Google to determine why my humidifier wasn't working. Google Home does not have a dedicated App for PC use, there are workarounds, but it is awkward. I miss the dedicated Nest App, the Google Home software just doesn't feel as "polished"
Forgot to add the upsides: Programmable temperature band. The +/- 1 degree on the 3rd generation felt like +/- 1.5 degrees. On the 4th generation you can set the band from .3 degrees to 1.5? degrees. This should add to the overall comfort level in the house (I haven't' noticed a difference yet). There is now a HOLD temperature setting.... the lack of this ability on the Gen 3 was very annoying. Easier to read and the thermostat is cooler than the gen 2 (IMHO).
I have an outside wood burner with a geothermal system. Does anyone know if this thermostat or others would allow just the fan to come on, let's say, 70 degrees when calling for heat and only turn on geothermal if it reaches 72 degrees?
I just upgraded from gen1 nest…i cant find the filter reminder setting on the gen4 an i can’t connect it on the google nest app. I can Only control it from google home app unlike my old thermostat.
Google doesn’t want you to use the Nest app anymore. All their new stuff is made for GHA only.
@@bosoares thats wack
never heard of "thread" or "matter" before this video, i guess it's time to do some reading
also, my problem with the Nest thermostat concept is that it's super-cool to have this sexy-looking round thing on the wall you can grab and twist to quickly change the temperature, but quickly and frequently changing your thermostat temp is exactly what you _don't want to do!_ for efficiency and the longevity of your HVAC that's something that should be thought out and programmed to where it's not changing so often, then _left alone_
the nest has ergonomics that nudge you into "bad behavior" from the standpoint of your heating and cooling system
I didn’t have luck with the previous nest thermostat. It would abruptly turn off the air conditioner and a second later turn the unit back on. I had an HVAC company come out and tell me they don’t recommend them due to a lot of issues people have with their heating/cooling systems. He recommended Emerson Sensi. I purchased one and never looked back. No issues whatsoever.
having matter support but not official apple home kit support means limited capability within HomeKit and you're better off just using the native app. Ecobee has better support within HomeKit as it was built from the ground up to support it.
Once added to HomeKit I get no response for some reason
Maybe if they added support for variable speed, error handlers and heat pumps. All these years later they've decided not to add something to make that a possibility. Or so it seems.
They’ve had support for heat pumps for a while. No issues with heat pump and backup gas furnace system.
Heat pump works fine. Variable speed air handler as well. I’m not sure about the condensing unit, mine is 2 stage instead of variable speed. Many variable speed (aka inverters) require proprietary thermostats that are fully communicating. Bosch doesn’t but they recommend you don’t use a smart thermostat with their IDS systems.
Hey ,
Does it have a always on screen function 🤔🕵️♂️??
🙏
No, the screen turns off if no one is in view of the thermostat.
Unfortunately, the 4th gen Nest thermostat isn't compatible with the Nest app so I won't be upgrading.
I love the screen and display. But HATE how far it is from the wall. That alone makes it a hard sell for me. But add in required Google Home, and I'm even more dead set against it. (Almost as much as I'd be dead set against anything that requires Alexa setup) I have a 2nd Gen Nest that I've wanted to upgrade, but I refuse to convert my Nest account to a Google one.
I guess when they finally pull the rug out from my old Nest, I'll be moving to EcoBee.
My biggest complaint about these newer Nest items is they don't allow you to use the original Nest App. They force you to you the Google Home app which sucks! The original nest app is so much better!
In the past people were saying matter support would be added for legacy devices, that's like saying a wifi 6e device would get wifi 7 support with a software update, so needless to say this hasn't and won't happen for a variety of reasons. You have to replace everything with devices that have matter support in reality.
True. Netatmo had to replace their v2 weather stations to v3 in order to enable Homekit integration as a chipset was missing. On the other hand, Philips juct enabled Matter on their v2 bridge.
However, the Nest 3rd gen thermostat already supports Thread natively and can theoretically communicate with matter devices. Google has just chosen to never enable the integration in order to push its newer merchandise. And this is all you need to know about app based "smart" home equipment. The manufacturers choose to create more e-waste by not supporting older (but not legacy) hardware.
Just went with Ecobee premium 45 days ago and very happy that i did. I liked the nest, but even with the upgrade, I made the right choice...
Thanks for the excellent review. I agree with almost all the comments here. I have gen 3 and don't see enough improvements to make me upgrade. Plus I think it is to pricey. I also wish they would let us have temperature increments of .5 degrees. The reason is when I set my Nest gen 3 to 78 degrees we get to cold. But in when we set it to 79 we get to hot. Or maybe let the user set the increment from when the room temp changes when the AC turns on/off. One more simple thing. For years I have been asking Google (feedback) to let me turn on the fan-only for 5 minutes. You can currently only turn it on for only 15 minutes at a minimum.
I still think the old nest design looked better. But thanks for the video
It still does. !!!
NO! The only time you should upgrade your Thermostat, is when it breaks. Find something else to spend your money on.
🙄
Who are you to tell people what they are allowed to buy?
Horrible advice if something is better that is more efficient or makes your workflow much more productive thus earning more money for less effort or something that makes you more efficient where it literally makes money that it absolutely is more efficient. About a 25% more efficient thermostat from an old one on a $400 a month gas bill in the winter mix back money in a single winter.
Been doing H-vac since I was 5 born into the trade . I use a eco bee pro & it knows when I leave the house & return via Wi-Fi & saves me 20-30 hours of run time a month without going into the app and turning it off myself .( It gives me a monthly update of run time/energy saved ) Not trying to sell anything other than your comment is flawed , one man’s opinion. My T-stat paid for itself with in the first 3 months 👍
Tell me you’re not into tech without telling me you’re not into tech.
Great presentation. One thing I observed. Why your hands are so dry? Are you drinking enough water? You need to keep your body hydrated
Can you not use the Nest app?
I was leaning on this stat over the Ecobee, but the fact that they force u to create a Google Home account is absolutely a trash move by Google.
I do not like the features with my existing Nest where they keep messing with the temp I set. I will never get another Nest.
No reason to upgrade really.