Had nest heatlink two years and suddenly found the thermostat reporting it had no power which then turns out to be be due to heatlink dying. When your heatlink dies you get nothing: no heating no hot water. So you better have an immersion. But if it happens in winter you are going to be cold. Google support is good once you get through to a human which is not as easy as it should be. But they are all remote so all they can do is send you a new box (actually make you pay 200 quid for a new box and only refund when old one sent back). They say they will pay up to 100 for an electrician to install but it's up to you to find someone to do that and claim back. Is this experience worth 250? I would say not. A traditional controller may not be glamorous but its a lot cheaper and they don't go wrong so you do at least have heat and hot water as long as boiler is OK. Nest effectively puts a flimsy piece of technology into a core system of your home with no manual override if (when) the box dies. Working heating is important, searching for cat videos isn't. Google have much to learn from well established companies who make traditional controllers about reliability. Until then I don't think I want Google in charge of important infrastructure in my house. I have a replacement nest and I can't get a refund on the original purchase so I will try and find a way to have a Potterton or Honeywell wired up which I can flick to if and when the Nest dies again. But if that's not possible the Nest will be binned. A flashy screen and app aren't substitutes for a reliable heating system.
