Google won't bring new Nest Thermostats to Europe
Google doesn't plan to sell any more Nest Thermostats in Europe due to the unique requirements of heating systems in the region.
So Google is telling us, they cant make a product if there are standards or requirements for what they are doing?
That means whatever US customers are buying, theres something in it, that does something illegal in EU.
This is why companies want US citizens to believe that EU is a bureaucratic hellscape (I mean there's also the forces that want to tell them it's communist for the same reason I guess)
"Sorry, we can't adjust the thermostat until we have audio evidence of whether the family is going through a divorce"
I would have been surprised if this weren't the case
They call the product line 'Nest', because it's where their data servers is getting nutrition from.
I think most of the “requirements” they’re referring to are the technical ones, not governmental.
North America’s residential HVAC landscape is pretty simply and dumb compared to a lot of what is happening in Europe. Dumb forced central air systems dominate residential HVAC.
It sounds like they don’t like developing for all the weird hardware configurations that appear in Europe.
Heating systems in Europe are unique and have a variety of hardware and software requirements that make it challenging to build for the diverse set of homes
AKA. Europe probably has hardware and software requirements that make it so Google can't
A) Harvest your data; and/or B) Must be able to function without an internet connection (aka. they can't kill it)
I can’t think of many companies I would be less willing to buy home automation tech from than Google.
i am surprised that they haven't canceled the program already
There is more home shot for them to create new teams. Once they get through everything is when you have to worry about your Google water heater program being cancelled.
Imagine a thermostat needing an internet connection.
It's not a hard requirement, but it's sure nice to leave the house at a low but non-freezing temp in winter while you're away for a few days, then use a web app to bring the temperature back up right before you come back in.
Being on the home LAN, though, is a requirement for me. That is extremely convenient.
Actually...
Anyone in Europe looking for an alternative might want to check out Tado
Netatmo as well if I recall
Or Drayton Wiser
We have a Tado system, not the current generation but the one before. It was easy to self-install and configure and has never given us any trouble. There are a couple UX quirks, such as not having a confirm dialog after you touch the Shut Down All or Max Out the Heat buttons, but overall it's one of the rare electronic gadgets that has led to no buyer's remorse.
Do they integrate with Home Assistant?
Yes
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/tado
You can also control locally (i.e. without internet connection) using homekit integration.
Been working fine for me for a couple of years.
Good.
TBF, over 15* in Germany I've only seen a couple of actual thermostats. The vast, vast majority use a valve on each radiator. There are electronic solutions for the radiators, but sticking a Nest on the wall is going to do nothing for someone unless the customer installs specific hardware that the Nest would have to support
*edit : years
In the Netherlands, almost all houses have a thermostat. I don't know anyone that doesn't have one
I haven't been in many private houses in the Netherlands. I could only speak to Germany
I built a thermostat with a Wemos D1 mini and a relay module about 10 years ago.
Still use it today integrated with home assistant and can turn the heat on and off while away from home. It's been reused across three boilers, no parts replaced.
It was a really fun project and I had virtually no experience with Arduino when starting out. Would recommend it to anyone.
Aren't there a lot of split units in Europe? Here I just needed an IR blaster to make my AC(s) "smart".
AC is not common in Europe. There's a variety of heating systems: gas boilers, direct electric heating, district heating, etc. Heat pumps are a growing market though.
Oh noo. Anyway…