Skip to main content

Nest thermostats fail to save energy as advertised, class-action lawsuit claims

Check out our full written Nest Thermostat review.

Chances are that you’ve heard plenty people sing the praises of Nest’s energy-saving thermostats before, but not everyone out there is so satisfied with the award-winning products. Earlier this week, a Maryland man filed a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging that its ultra-popular Learning Thermostats are defective, and fail to accurately measure a room’s temperature.

Recommended Videos

In the complaint, Justin Darisse said he purchased one of the thermostats online for $249.99 after watching Nest promotional videos and seeing advertisements that suggested installing the device would save him money. After testing the device firsthand, he found that faulty temperature readings taken by the thermostat actually caused him to pay more for energy costs, not less.

He alleges that,”Nest’s base and faceplate heat up, which causes Nest’s temperature reading to be from two to ten degrees higher than the actual ambient temperature in the surrounding room. This defect prevents the thermostat from working properly. As a result, Nest users do not experience the advertised energy savings.”

The complaint seeks more than $5 million for Darisse and the hundreds of thousands of other consumers who’ve purchased one of Nest’s thermostats, alleging that the company has violated warranty and consumer protection laws. Five million dollars is likely a drop in the bucket for the company, which was recently acquired by Google for $3.2 billion back in Janaury. But if the lawsuit sticks – and there’s no guarantee it will, at this point – it’ll likely cause a significant amount of damage to the company’s image.

 You can read the full complaint, which was first spotted by Law360, for yourself here.

[via GigaOM]

Drew Prindle
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…
Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) vs. Amazon Smart Thermostat: Which is best for your home?
The Amazon Smart Thermostat.

Smart thermostats are an easy way to upgrade your home's heating and cooling skills, and few products are as popular as the Amazon Smart Thermostat and Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen). The two offer many of the same basic features, though you'll find a handful of drastic differences between the devices -- starting with their price tag.

From pricing and design to installation and available features, here's a closer look at the Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) and Amazon Smart Thermostat to help you decide which is better for your smart home.
Pricing and design

Read more
Ecobee 3 Lite vs. Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced: Which is the best smart thermostat?
The Ecobee 3 Lite near home decor.

Ecobee has a great lineup of smart thermostats available for purchase, and its two cheapest options are the Ecobee 3 Lite and Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced. There are a lot of similarities between the two -- including their appearance -- so it can be difficult to figure out what exactly your extra $40 is getting you with the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced. More importantly, is it even worth the extra cash, or can you stick with the Ecobee 3 Lite?

Here's a closer look at the Ecobee 3 Lite and Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced.
Pricing and design

Read more
This Google Nest speaker deal cuts the price in half
Nest Audio speaker in a moody dark room.

If you're thinking about buying a smart speaker but you prefer Google Assistant over Amazon's Alexa, then the Google Nest Audio should be your choice. You're actually going to want to make the purchase right now, as the device is available from Best Buy with a 50% discount. From its original price of $100, it's on sale for only $50, which is a fantastic price for this smart speaker. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you want to take advantage of it, push through with the transaction immediately.

Why you should buy the Google Nest Audio smart speaker
The Google Nest Audio is featured in our list of the best smart speakers as the top option for Google Assistant, which isn't a surprise. It's a proper Google Home successor, with our Google Nest Audio versus Google Home comparison highlighting upgrades such as a more modern design with small dimensions and an entirely fabric exterior, improved audio output with its 19mm tweeter and 75mm mid-woofer, and more far-field microphones so it can listen to you better.

Read more