Nest’s new functionality: Warming your house when you unlock the door and more

By Jenny McGrath Published January 5, 2015

NEST Smoke Detector top front main — Image used with permission by copyright holder

What “Works with Nest”? A lot more, after a recent announcement by the Google-owned company at CES 2015. The smart thermostat launched its developer program six months ago, and several companies are joining Mercedes Benz, Logitech, Pebble, Rachio, and others in partnering up with Nest.

With its smoke- and CO2-detectors, Nest has been angling to be a bigger part of the smart home for a while. By pairing with products such as August smart locks, Philips Hue light bulbs, and Withings sleep system, the thermostat system just became far more intelligent.

Unlocking your August or Kevo smart lock triggers Nest to warm or cool the house automatically. Your Whirlpool washer gets an alert you’ve arrived home and switch to a quieter mode. Because your Withings sleep system knows you’re headed to bed, it can communicate with Nest to set the perfect nighttime temperature.

The partnerships mean you can control the if-this-then-that functionality without an outside app.

The Nest Protect also benefits from some of the partnership. Your Hue light bulbs flash if the smoke alarm goes off, while the Ooma VOIP phone service can contact emergency services.

Nest’s newest partners include August, Automatic, Insteon, LG, Lutron, Ooma, Philips Hue, Kevo, and Withings. Later this year, Beep, Big Ass Fans, Chargepoint, Whirlpool, and Zuli will add new functionality as well.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…

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