Programmable thermostats can reduce heating and cooling costs in your home by 25 percent or 30 percent, and the Nest thermostat is one of the most popular of these devices.
But if you balk at the $249 price of a Nest, there's some potentially good news coming down the pike for you.
Local utilities will often subsidize the cost of a Nest for your home if you're their customer. Sometimes you can even get one for free. It's worth a five-second web search to see if this is a possibility for you.
But for those people who can't get a subsidy, Bloomberg reports that a cheaper Nest could be on the way in 2018.
The cheaper Nest is said to include remote sensors that would allow for zoned heating, i.e. individualized temperature control of select rooms vs. the entire home at large.
The lower price point will likely be achieved by having cheaper components. Bloomberg says "at least one internal prototype lacks the flagship model's metal edges," citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
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