I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to technology working in your home, office, or common areas of an association I manage. That said, when I read about nest's thermostat and smoke detector I was immediately engaged. I'm not sure how it all came together, and I decided to look into the product, but I'm pretty sure I saw a glimpse here and there on social media, or a news article and I kept thinking, "what is nest." I let the thought leave my mind quickly, and continued mindlessly scrolling the headlines of my news feeds. Finally, I saw a news article that nest was purchased by google, and for some reason I think google has a big idea of taking over every aspect of how technology engages with us, "the humans." I can't help but think, "why is google buying nest, and what is their master plan to take over the in-home tech space, and how will it make me ever so happy in the process?" So, I started in on the google machine and began my research. First thing I pull up is Tony Fadell and bang, he's "one of the fathers of the iPod." Uh oh, my thirst for research must continue. It must.
I land on the website and feel refreshed and overjoyed by it's simplicity. Just to side step a bit, I'm a little neurotic when it comes to alleviating clutter and streamlining everything in my life. It sounds odd but I like the idea of the fire department coming to my house, telling me I have an hour to pack everything, and knowing I can accomplish the task in less time than they provide. Interestingly enough, nest's smoke alarm, my neurosis of eliminating clutter, teamed with the hypothetical of leaving my house in an emergency are, without a doubt, a match made in heaven that was birthed by cupid himself. I can imagine being in a room, receiving a text from nest about a potential fire, calling the fire department and then taking all my valuables before any damage to the rest of the house occurs. I win. The only problem I foresee is explaining to my insurance company that every valuable in the house was successful taken away, but the entire structure was burned down ...
How the nest smoke alarm works for me:
1) It tells me where the problem is in the house/building. Not by beeping but by saying, "there is smoke in the living room," or by sending a message to my tablet or smart phone. Brilliant!
2) It tells me when the batteries are running low via smartphone or tablet. Awesome, no beeping.
3) If the alarm goes off and it's not an emergency, then I can simply wave my hand in front of it and it will silence. No piercing noise, no annoyance, just a calm voice alerting you of a problem. I'm overjoyed.
Alright, that's perfect for at home, but now my mind wonders to my place of business. My office is in an older building, no fire spinklers, no centrally monitored smoke alarms and as far as I can tell, no way to dispatch the fire department. What ever do I do? Install nest in my office, get notifications of any potential fires on my phone, and save my entire office complex. I'm a hero, everybody loves me and, yes, I win property manager of the year even though I don't manage my office complex.
Okay, I'm not sold on nest yet (totally lying to myself), what's up with the nest thermostat? Well, it's the sexiest thermostat I've ever seen and I've seen a lot. And you can definitely see and feel the father of the iPod resemblance here. I'll keep this portion short and hopefully by now you'll look into this for yourself.
How the nest thermostat works for me ... And maybe you.
1) It is always learning. Always. Every time you adjust the temperature it takes note.
2) You can adjust the temperature from your smartphone or tablet. Ever forget to turn off the heater and you leave for awhile?
3) You save on energy costs because you can monitor, and you have the nest looking out for you, and monitoring your habits.
In conclusion, I love nest and really want to know how it can go to work for me in a commercial management atmosphere. I plan on pitching the idea to some clients, but a couple things are coming to mind as possible concerns.
1) Theft.
2) Upfront cost and realized savings.
3) My clients may become suspicious of google taking over the in-home tech space, and wonder how it will make them ever so happy in the process.
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