Google’s Nest range remains one of the star attractions of the smart home world, despite many competitors. Even with the utility firms trying to offer their own “smart” solutions for many customers, even if these only report usage to an app, Nest remains the leading brand associated with thermostats, while the Nest Cam range and Protect smoke/CO2 detector also help .
With rumors of a lower-cost Nest thermostat and more devices to come, many other smart home products are ensuring they get some reflected glory from the Nest brand by offering compatibility, badged as “Works with Nest”.
In this roundup, we highlight some of the leading Nest compatible devices that can integrate and interact with Nest devices to improve your smart home live.
#1 LiFX
You might struggle to think of a reason that your lights would need to connect to a thermostat. However, LiFX has thought of this, and when the Nest is set to Away mode, then the lights can be turned on or off at random intervals to make it look as though someone is home.
That may be useful in the winter, or scare the pants off you when you’re coming home and see a light go on, forgetting you enabled the feature, but it can be a nice to have!
If you have a Nest Protect unit as well, then the lights can be triggered to flash when there is an alert. that’s ideal for warning the hard of hearing, or just to encourage people to investigate or evacuate.
#2 Big Ass Fans Haiku
This company’s high-quality ceiling fans definitely have a good reason to be compatible with Nest. Paired through an iOS app, when the central heating is on, they can be set to run gently to nudge that rising warm air to the bottom of the room where the people are.
As they benefit from being warmer, people are more likely to turn the thermostat down, saving money and enjoying a more efficient home.
Conversely, in summer, the fans can sync with Nest to run more aggressively, to stir up the air to circulate cooler air flow around a room or home and reduce the load on your air conditioning, with each degree adjustment saving around 5% on your electricity bill according to the company.
#3 Belkin WeMo
Some products you might question as to why they work with Nest. Belkin’s WeMo smart plugs and camera are one example, their basic reason for Works with Nest compatibility is so that lights and appliances will be aware, thanks to the Nest settings, when you’re at home, or out or away, and can respond automatically.
However, they are worth mentioning because the Belkin app happily shows you data from the Nest devices, saving the user from having to switch between apps – a common moan from many smart home users. That means if the temperature is showing as a bit low, you can kick a dumb electric heater connected to a WeMo smart plug to give a particular room a boost.
#4 August Door Lock
If you have your front door secured with August’s Smart Lock and Doorbell Cam, then it’s a bonus that it can work with your Nest setup.
For a start, it can sync with the home and away settings to ensure the door is locked when you are supposed to be out.
It can also work with the Nest Cam, so if you see a visitor on the Doorbell Cam and decide to allow someone entry, you can then track them with the Nest Cam, assuming it is suitably located, when they enter the home. August’s app also allows you to monitor the Nest temperature settings, saving you swapping between smart home apps.
#5 Amazon Echo
In most homes, when you’re sat down for the evening, getting up to adjust the thermostat seems decidedly non-smart. And, if you’ve left your phone charging in the kitchen, then your options are limited.
However, with an Amazon Echo (or Google Home) in the house, you can talk directly to your Nest Thermostat and adjust the settings via voice control.
The Echo range has a Nest Smart Home Skill that you can enable using the Alexa app. Once the Nest Thermostat is discovered, you don’t need a phone to chat to the wall-hugging dial.
Commands include “Alexa, what’s the temperature in Nest?” Or, “Alexa, what’s the temperature in the house?” or “Alexa, what temperature is my Nest set to?”
#6 Wink Hub
The nest is designed to work in its own little environment, but many smart homeowners still have a hub to control everything. The Wink Hub is one that is happy to play with the whole Nest range, and other devices can be triggered by changes in settings and data from the Nest devices.
Slick integration means that users can control settings and operating modes via Wink and it is easy to create automation settings and rules for other devices. Key among these will be if the Nest Cam senses motion or the Nest Protect triggers an alarm, all of which can be used by the Wink to trigger alerts or other devices to help out in a crisis.
#7 Almond Smart Home Router
With a Nest, you’ve already got one LCD display in a corner of the room, but the Almond provides a full smart home router and control system for your smart home devices.
Working with Nest, it provides another screen to adjust the Nest settings, if your original thermostat is tucked away in a less traveled part of the house.
With Almond likely to be closer to the home’s more traveled paths, you can check the battery status of the Nest Protect, which is usually tucked out of the way, and set home or away modes for the Thermostat.
#8 SimpleHuman Sensor Mirror
Ladies, this one is for you. If you have a NestCam then you can stick it in any room you plan to be entertaining in. Then, the SimpleHuman Sensor Mirror, usually located in your bedroom can take measurements from the lighting conditions from that room, and use its own display to show how your makeup would look under that lighting.
If looking beyond good, and as near to perfect as possible, is an essential part of your entertaining plans then this useful trick could come in very handy but is obviously limited to special occasions.
#9 Energenie MiHome Radiator Control
Since most people get a Nest Thermostat to control their home temperature, the MiHome Radiator Control that allows you to manage per-room heating is an ideal accompaniment.
These devices work together with the Nest Learning Thermostat to reach your target temperature on a room-by-room basis and give you an advanced and smarter home-heating setup.
Link the MiHome app to let your system know who is home and what rooms need heating when, and it can work with Nest to provide optimal heating control.
#10 Bosch Appliances
The wave of smart kitchen appliances is growing fast, and the latest Bosch models will work with Nest Thermostat, if the oven has been left on and you are set to be away, it can send you an alert, and be turned safely off.
Or, if the Protect smoke alarm is triggered by the oven overcooking something when you nipped out to the shop, it can provide a similar service to prevent damage.
Overview of the 10 Best Compatible Nest Devices
| Product | Category | Works with Nest | Usefulness |
| LiFX | Lighting | Thermostat and Protect | 7/10 |
| Big Ass Fans | Cooling | Thermostat | 8/10 |
| Belkin WeMo | SmartPlug | Thermostat | 4/10 |
| August Door Lock | Security | Thermostat and Nest Cam | 6/10 |
| Amazon Echo | Smart Control | Thermostat | 6/10 |
| Wink Hub | Smart Control | Thermostat, Nest Cam and Protect | 8/10 |
| Almond | Smart Control | Thermostat, Nest Cam and Protect | 9/10 |
| SimpleHuman Sensor Mirror | Lighting | Nest Cam | 3/10 |
| MiHome Radiator Control | Heating | Thermostat | 9/10 |
| Bosch Appliances | Kitchen | Thermostat and Protect | 6/10 |
Final Take Summary
Most smart home products are rapidly adopting support for Nest and Alexa, as the main leading ways to integrate and share information.
Expect plenty more devices to do so, and to work smarter with the information and services to hand to help create a smarter home. Sure, some are pretty limited or have niche applications for now, but things will change rapidly.
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