Redesigned Nest Thermostat E comes to UK with pre-programmed smart schedule

Launching in the US last year, the Nest Thermostat E is finally coming to the UK. Rather than being just the same product as the US version, the Thermostat E is rather a redesigned product designed specifically to be easy to install in UK homes.

Key to the product’s ease of installation is the battery-powered Heat Link E. Rather than having to be wired directly into the boiler, as with the 3rd Gen Nest Learning Thermostat and its Heat Link, the new product is designed to replace an old wired thermostat. You just unscrew the old thermostat and follow the instructions to wire in the Heat Link E and you’re good to go.

As the Heat Link E will be on display, Nest has made an effort to make it look good. Using a similar grey material covering as the Google Home Mini, the new Heat Link E looks great and should fit in with most people’s decor.

Related: Best smart thermostats

The Thermostat E, unlike the US version, is pedestal mounted, and can be plugged in anywhere you have a power socket. It has a similar dial action to the Learning Thermostat, letting you twist to turn the temperature up or down.

The display isn’t as feature-packed as with the Learning Thermostat and can’t, for example, show you the upcoming weather. Instead, the Thermostat E is a simpler product that just shows you the current temperature, with a very gentle and soft display. For most people, this is all they need.

Built into the Thermostat E is a temperature sensor, humidity sensor, ambient light sensor (to offset settings should the sun shine directly on it), and an occupancy sensor to detect movement and, therefore, turn down the temperature when nobody is home.

With the Learning Thermostat it took a period of a few weeks before a schedule had been learned. With the Thermostat E, Nest has taken a different approach, pre-setting the product with a schedule based on real data from thousands of existing Nest users. The hope is that this schedule will suit most people, and the Thermostat E will adjust over time with use, refining the settings. As for how good this will be, we’ll see when we get our review sample.

As with the Learning Thermostat, the new product can learn the thermal properties of your home via the True Radiant feature, letting it shut down the boiler to prevent temperature overshoot. The Thermostat E uses its integrated sensor and the one built into the Heat Link E for this.

At £199 including VAT, the Thermostat E can be installed my most amateur DIY enthusiasts within an hour without the need for a heating engineer. It’s available for pre-order now and we’ll bring you a full review soon.