Cor vs. Nest: Your Guide to Smart Thermostats

You know you dread it…going to the mailbox and there it is…..your electric bill!

Does anyone ever feel good about opening that envelope? I doubt it.

Heating and cooling a home is the #1 energy hog in the home. How can you possibly keep your electric costs down? The answer might be a Smart Thermostat.

Most smart thermostats use data to help control your home’s heating and cooling. The goal is to optimize your home temperature and save money. They also let you control the temperature through your smartphone or device from anywhere.

We’ll break down the advantages of two of the more popular smart thermostats: The Carrier COR and the Nest.

Read on to see which one is right for you and your home.

The Carrier COR

First glance

The COR is great for homeowners who want to be on top of their bills and want to know exactly how their energy costs impact their expenses.

Perhaps the best feature of the COR is that it provides detailed reporting to let you know exactly what happened in your home.

Key features

• Helps you save money – The COR really shines when it comes to giving you actionable information to make better energy decisions. It can:
  • Compare your month-to-month use so you can see if you are spending more or less.
  • Compare your use to your community so you’ll know if you’re using more than most homes in your area.
  • Detail your home efficiency so you can know if you’re missing out on savings.
  • Provides minute-by-minute detail so you can know exactly what happened and figure out who left the AC on all day when nobody was home.
• Elegant design – The LCD screen even makes your home look more intelligent.
• Adapts to your schedule – The COR can learn your usage patterns and intelligently adapt to maximize efficiency.
• Control from anywhere – COR connects to your Wi-Fi, so you can adjust your settings from your Apple or Android device, from anywhere.
• Checks the weather – Heading out? Check the app to see what you’re in for.
• Removes moisture from the air – Hate that “cold and clammy” feeling? The COR can help remove moisture from the air.
• Keeps air fresh – When heating or cooling isn’t needed, the COR doesn’t sleep. It’ll maintain proper air circulation so air doesn’t get stale.

What’s great about the COR?

The COR is an information powerhouse. It’s a great choice if you want to understand your energy spending habits and want to find ways to save money. It also helps keep your home pleasant automatically, by dealing with things like humidity control.

The COR is made by Carrier, so if you have a Carrier heating and cooling system, the COR will help you get the most out of all the features.

For example, according to Carrier, “If your system includes a Carrier heat pump and a furnace, its energy smart design can orchestrate their use as a Hybrid Heat® system to further stretch your energy dollars.”

What are the disadvantages?

For some, the COR might provide more information than you care for. However, it does enough on its own to be very effective and you don’t have to use the reports if you don’t want to.

The Nest

First Glance:

The makers of Nest believe that most people (89%, according to them) who have programmable thermostats don’t actually set them. This means they lose out on any energy savings those thermostats would provide.

The best feature of the Nest is that it takes programming out of your hands by learning from your habits, which makes it great for people who don’t want to, or don’t like to set up devices.

Key Features:

• Simple design – It’s elegant looking and unobtrusive.
• Learns from you – The Nest learns your heating and cooling habits over the first couple weeks by seeing how you adjust it and then repeats the pattern.
• User-friendly – Answer a few questions after installation, then set as you go and eventually the Nest will take over.
• Control from anywhere – Like the COR, the Nest also features Wi-Fi connectivity and an app that lets you make changes from anywhere.
• Always adjusts – As you make changes to your energy use, Nest will keep learning and adjust its automatic schedule.

What’s great about Nest?

If you’re a big hands-off person the Nest may be right for you. It’s easy to use and installation is relatively easy.

What are the Nest’s disadvantages?

The Nest does learn your schedule, however it takes about 3 weeks to do so.

Which is right for me?

It really depends on your goals and habits. If you don’t make a lot of adjustments to your home temperature and don’t want to think about it, Nest may be right for you.

If you want to save money and have a device that will help to optimize the comfort of your home, COR may be better for you.

If you’re in the Greater Atlanta area and are interested in a smart thermostat, contact Coolray online today. We can help you with every aspect, from device choice to installation and setup.

If you have questions, ask one of our experts or call us directly at 770-421-8400.