Npower to update Nest smart thermostat

Npower is poised to update its Nest smart thermostat to enable it to communicate with other products.

The third generation of the smart thermostat, available to the supplier’s customers through a partnership, also includes a hot water control for the first time and more accurate heating controls.

Npower’s website says a new customer offer involving the new Nest thermostat is “coming soon”.

Nest said the thermostat is capable of speaking with other connected home products by brands including Philips, Hue, Osram, Bosch, Logitech and LG, which allows the products to “work together, learn from one another and help [the user] out- all on their own”.

Users will also be able to adjust the hot water schedule via the phone app, with an auto-away feature kicking in to reduce energy usage when the home is empty for more than two days.

Nest now also uses OpenTherm to enable two-way communication between compatible boilers and the smart thermostat to work out the exact amount of gas needed to be burnt to maintain the requested temperature, cutting excess energy use in the process.

The thermostat has also undergone a redesign to achieve a slimmer profile which now allows homeowners to read the high resolution screen from across the room.

Nest European general manager Lionel Paillet said: “Millions of Nest homes around the world have saved approximately four billion kilowatt hours of energy compared to what they would have used if they’d left their thermostats at a consistent temperature.

“And today, with brand new software and hardware, our European customers can save even more whilst staying comfortable, thanks to remote hot water control and OpenTherm compatibility.”