I know it only claims to be a thermostat. Also now I've read more reviews1 I'm suspicious. Lots of the 5* reviews are saying things like "duh, well I can read, I'm not an idiot so I knew it wouldn't replace the water timer". Also I'm slightly concerned by this review1 I think that would apply to us:
... the UK Nest version requires a second device (the Heat Link) to operate in the UK, rather than being directly attached to the wiring (like the US version). This is a deal breaker for me as I feel it's a step backwards (two separate devices mounted on my wall, replacing my current single device? - sorry, but no thanks.) I appreciate this may be good for some installations (where the boiler is outside of the dwelling, perhaps in a garage), but I want my Nest installed in place of the existing thermostat. Even if I was to have the Heat Link installed in the location of my current thermostat (hallway), and have the Nest thermostat installed elsewhere (lounge), Nest would require a plug socket and have an ugly cable trailing up the wall to power it.
Doesn't sound like in our situation we would have just the thermostat floating on the wall like in all the pictures2. We need the heat link and probably trailing wires. I assumed the heat link would go inside the airing cupboard wired to the boiler and that would talk wirelessly to the thermostat. Not 100% on this, but by the time I'd figured that out for sure it would be too late to send it back, so I'm sending it back now. Hopefully Nest will figure out what the UK really needs and have a "double timer" for the water too. Or maybe I'll take the money I've saved, get an electrician in to fit my lightwaverf relay to my existing boiler (I think there are separate controls for the heat and water) and then I can control it all with software...
Nest have also withdrawn their smoke alarm. I would say it's not going super well for them right now, but they do seem to have some super fans who will carry them through.
Paul Clarke's weblog - I live in Hythe in the deep South. Wed to Clare and dad to two, I'm a full-stack web engineer, + I do js / Node, some ruby, other languages etc. I like pubs, parkrun, eating, home automation + other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, TV, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.