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Will Nest work with Z-Wave?

Nest, now in its third generation, is a smart home thermostat that promises to learn your preferences to keep the home comfortable and the energy bill down without your needing to even think about it. Obviously there would be benefits for the Nest to be able to operate in collaboration with other smart home technologies, and be accessed from the same place, but if you already have Z-Wave linking your smart home, certain hubs may be incompatible with Nest. And of course there are LOTS of other thermostat options, read our ultimate thermostat guide to get up to speed. 

Z-Wave is a popular home automation protocol, and can work sort of like an operating system for the computer that is the automated home (and your hub). It keeps home automation technology easy to access, and allows the technologies to communicate with each other to create a truly automated home. Like an operating system, however, certain tools that you may want to use may only work with certain versions of the system.

This article will look at different Z-Wave hubs and discuss whether or not they are compatible with any generation of Nest thermostat, and discuss options for working with these technologies. If you don’t have a hub yet, check out our hub page for suggestions and details

Samsung

Tech giant Samsung’s home automation line, SmartThings, is compatible with both Nest, and Z-Wave. Samsung is also a leader in smart home security, as is Nest, so if you plan on using your Nest for controlling more than just the temperature, Samsung is likely to be a good fit.

Logitech

The Harmony series from Logitech is a home automation system that focuses on convenient and centralized control. By turning a smartphone or tablet into a control center for all of your home automation technology, as well as for your home entertainment systems, going with a Logitech hub is an obvious choice for anyone who’s afraid that making their home automated will make it more complicated.

The Harmony series is compatible with Nest, and with the Harmony Home Z-Wave Hub Extender, you can control your Z-Wave devices with Harmony as well.

Wink

Home automation company Wink prides itself on being compatible with a large number of brands producing home automation technology, including Nest, making it a solid first choice for people just getting into home automation who want to be able to stick with the brands that they know. Wink also has its own series of energy efficient smart lightbulbs, so if your main interest in Nest is saving energy on heat, Wink should be a good way to save money on electricity as well. Z-Wave is compatible with the Wink 2 series, but if you have an older model hub, it might not translate as efficiently.

Nexia

Nexia, a home automation company that makes hubs compatible with Nest, prioritizes automation and control for people who travel a lot, or may have additional properties that they would like to automate for times that they are away, like summer homes. Nexia’s Home bridge/hub is compatible with Nest and Z-Wave, but Nexia also partnered with Trane and American Standard to make their own smart home thermostats/hubs, which may not partner well with Nest.

Vera

If you’re looking for a simple home automation platform, and are big on security, home automation company Abode Z-wave Home Security might make the hub for you. Promising quick and easy installation with no monthly fees, Vera specializes in home surveillance and offers a number of products to get you started quickly. While Vera is big on home surveillance, their hardware is compatible with Nest, and their VeraEdge Home Z-Wave Controller, VeraPlus Smart Home Controller Hub, and VeraLite Home Automation Gateway are all compatible with Z-Wave.

Almond

Securifi’s Almond series of touchscreen home automation hubs are compatible with Nest, and double as wireless internet routers (similar to Vera). By fusing the wifi hub and router two necessary pieces of home automation hardware and interfaces are combined into a single unit. For those unfamiliar with home automation, this might make things seem a little more complicated at first, but for those looking to further streamline their homes, this line of products should help to declutter and simplify.

Piper

While their hubs do support home automation, it may be more accurate to call Piper a home security company than a home automation company. Focusing primarily on cameras and sensors that send alerts to the user’s mobile phone while away, Piper may be one of the stronger options for those who are automating their homes primarily for security rather than for energy efficiency or convenience. Although they are Z-Wave compatible, Piper products and services are not known to communicate particularly efficiently with Nest, so if Piper sounds like the route for you it may be best to choose between Piper and Nest.

HomeSeer

Home automation company HomeSeer makes Z-Wave compatible hubs that are not compatible with Nest, unless you buy a separate Nest plugin. Unfortunately, Nest is not one of those tools known to be very seamlessly compatible with HomeSeer. If you are looking to unite a few other home automation devices that you already have working, HomeSeer might be the hub for you, even if it means finding a smart home thermostat other than Nest.

Fibaro

Fibaro is a home automation company that focuses on convenience. This Z-Wave compatible company offers its own products to help you control your home from your key-ring, start devices with the push of a button, and more. Fibaro also works with other labor-saving companies like iRobot, Philips, and Amazon. Fibaro was not known to be largely compatible with Nest, until recently, so if you want to use Fibaro and Nest, you now can!

Other Options

There are a number of home automation companies who make hubs that are Z-Wave compatible and that work well with Nest, so if your ultimate goal is to use Nest instead of a Z-Wave thermostat, make sure you pick the right hub!

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