expired Posted by idk_then | Staff • Jan 22, 2025
Jan 22, 2025 4:59 PM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expired Posted by idk_then | Staff • Jan 22, 2025
Jan 22, 2025 4:59 PM
Google Nest Thermostat E 3rd Gen Programmable Smart Thermostat (White) $60 + Free Shipping w/ Prime $59.99
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Or go all the way to the nest learning thermostat 4th gen, if budget allows.
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The 'Nest Smart Thermostat E' is essentially a "builder-grade" 3rd Gen Nest Learning Thermostat: it has all the functionality, but with a cheaper plastic casing and screen (still better screen than the 'Nest Thermostat', though). It was originally only available to professional installers, as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Learning model.
So it has the learning functionality, bigger screen (the Nest Thermostat only actually has a small rectangular display behind the larger mirrored plastic front), better UI using the rotating bezel, and the ability to work with the Nest Thermostat Sensors. Basic aesthetics and Matter compatibility aside, it is just a much more capable device.
I've personally lived with the Nest E, the Nest Learning Gen 3 and the Nest 2020, and, while I prefer the Gen 3 over the E, I would definitely get either one over the 2020, unless you absolutely need Matter, which currently only the 2020 and Gen 4 have (Google has been "working" on Matter support for the Gen 3 and E for years now - they have the Thread hardware already).
You can use HomeBridge to integrate the Gen 3 and E with Apple HomeKit, and there is a Smart Home Skill for integrating them with Amazon's Alexa ecosystem, so compatibility isn't really a major issue - although if you're an Amazon/Alexa household, I would personally go with the Ecobee with integrated Alexa over any Nest thermostat, as they are equally great, and much more deeply integrated with Amazon.
I was actually hoping to snag this deal so I could replace my mom's Nest 2020 in order to make use of the Nest Sensors, as the thermostat wiring controlling the furnace/AC for their bedrooms was, for whatever reason, placed in the hallway outside of the bedrooms, cut off from every vent whose output it controls; as a result, if it's cool in that hallway, it will keep heating the bedrooms indefinitely until you are shrumpled up like a raisin, which is a real problem, as they keep the heat for the rest of the house turned way down overnight.
The Gen 4 is technically the best Nest option today, but I just can't get over how ugly the "mushroom" design is - plus, if you have kids, it's just begging for them to grab onto it like a knob and rip it out of the wall at some point, whether accidentally or just because they're bored.
Unlike the Nest 2020, it has access to all the basic configuration options on the thermostat itself, although, as with pretty much all smart thermostats, the sheer number of options and settings are not something I could see any sane person want to adjust by tapping away at a small, wall-mounted screen, especially when, as a smart home device, one of the core selling points is that you don't have to do that, and can instead use the expensive, high-quality portable computer with a much larger screen that is likely always in your pocket anyway.
Having owned several versions of Nest thermostats, I can say without hesitation that the rotating bezel interface is one of the reasons I keep coming back to them (and its absence one of the reasons I dislike the 2020) - for quickly adjusting the temperature, and even for the occasional deeper configuration, having a physical, non-touch screen control system is just far easier to work with than having to poke at virtual buttons with no physical feedback. It's like the difference between a car infotainment system with actual knobs/buttons compared to the currently excessively popular touchscreen-only interfaces - after having driven in a few, I would never buy a car with the latter.
Anyway, you do you, but this is definitely a solid thermostat - I lived with one for years, and it always served me well. The Nest 2020 is a pretty device brought down by trying to save on costs to the point of severely impacting usability, and the Nest Learning Gen 4 is an ugly mushroom; but this, and its nicer sibling, the Gen 3, are legitimately great devices, even if they don't meet your personal criteria.
Even if they just covered the thinner mushroom-like base with a hollow bezel (or, even better, used that space for a larger rotating bezel, as with the previous Nest Learning models), I would buy one no questions asked. But the mushroom knob design is just way too ugly in my eyes, not to mention begging for something to get caught on it or kids to pull on.
I'll stick with my Gen 3, and just hope they pick a better designer for the eventual Gen 5.