Connected Home Nest Smart Thermostat

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

This project could not have come at a better time for us. We have been dragging our feet for a year or so about what to do with our old out dated thermostat. It had gotten to the point that it would randomly stop working and the Old Man had to take it off the wall and fiddle with it to get it working. When I learned we were getting the Nest I was ecstatic, now we could finally be up to date on household appliances! 

The Old Man had no clue what I was talking about when I mentioned we were getting the nest. He just had no idea why I was so excited! So first in case you don't know anything about the nest here is the details.

Nest Learning Thermostat : 

This is the new 3rd generation version, which is thinner, sleeker in design, and allows for a bigger, crisper display than the prior 2nd generation version.

·         To get the most out of your Nest, connect to your existing home’s Wi Fi network and download the free app from iTunes or GooglePlay – this allow you to manage your home’s temp from your smartphone, tablet or laptop, even when you're miles away

·         Never come home to a cold house. You can easily turn down the temp when traveling, or set it to warm up your home before you come home

·         You can set it to accommodate your schedule and temperature preferences

·         Or, there is no need to set preferences – within a week, the Nest learning thermostat starts programming itself. It learns your habits and adjusts automatically, regulating your home’s temperature based on your schedule – which can save you energy and money.  When you're not at home (the “Away” mode), it will automatically switch to an energy-efficient temperature. In independent studies, the Nest saved an average of 10-12% on heating and 15% on cooling bills.

·         Nest provides your energy usage, tracking how much you've used and provides tips that will help you conserve. Make an energy-saving temperature adjustment and the Nest Leaf will notify you immediately.

·         Some local utility companies offer rebates – find out about available rebates online at the URL provided above

·         Nest provides alerts and reminders for peace of mind: it monitors your heating/cooling equipment, and tells you if anything is not working correctly. You can also be alerted if your home's temperature goes above or below limits you set.

Belkin router review: End of a 6 year journey

I have had my old router since the year I graduated high school. It was not in continuous use as for 2 years I didn't have internet. Once I did get home internet I pulled out my old trusty Belkin router and hooked it up and it worked perfect. As time went I noticed a fall in quality and speeds. No more could I stream Netflix to my Wii, and web pages on my iPhone and tablet either took 5 mins to load or give funny errors. Other times my WiFi network would just  disappear and id have to reboot the router to get it to work again. Recently I made the move to cancel my Dish Network services to go 100% internet TV and that's when the not being able to stream became a problem. In the last few weeks I had been contemplating getting a new router with the money I saved from canceling dish (anywhere from 55-80 a month.). I kept trying to hold off but the other day I was trying to do something and it just got to the point I was so annoyed I decided to do a speed test. This is what I got: