[Photo: Nest]In the world of technology, we often focus on beautiful graphics and mighty computing power, but there’s a little bit of glamor in the way a company called Nest handles the humble thermostat.
Tony Fadell, Apple employee from 2006-2008 and best known to the world as the “Father of the iPod”, is the man behind a new thermostat idea that programs itself by learning which temperatures you prefer and when, as well as adjusting itself downward if you’re not in the house. The design is simple and beautiful in the way you would expect an Apple product to be, and you can even control it over wifi from your computer or smartphone.
“And it’s about more than looking pretty,” Fadell said in the company’s blog. “Heating and cooling make up half your energy bill. Everyone’s thinking green, switching their light bulbs, but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to what your thermostat could save. And when you realize that over 10 million thermostats are sold each year in the U.S. alone…”
The iPhone app that allows you to control the Nest thermostat isn’t available yet, but there’s a huge amount of info on the website about the plans and the “vision” for how you can control the temperature in your home. And no, that’s not a sentence I ever thought I’d actually say.
[Nest via Daring Fireball]
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