Nest Thermostat 3rd Generation vs Nest Thermostat E: Pros & Cons and Verdict

Smart thermostats are popular home products, and lots of people actively purchase them. Several manufacturers create reliable, trusted, and functional thermostats.

One of those reliable and notable brands is Nest. Nest has released several best-selling, robust, and flexible thermostats that are one of the best on the market.

Two of their successful releases are the Nest Thermostat 3rd Generation and the latest Nest Thermostat E. These two offer exceptional features and out-of-the-box capabilities that can meet the needs of any buyer.

Nest thermostats are among our favorite smart home devices for their simplicity, ease of use, and reliability. However, in recent years, the brand’s focus has shifted to newer versions of the Thermostat E.

The most notable difference between the Nest and the nest E is that Nest E’s version isn’t compatible with as many HVAC systems as the third-generation model.

3rd Generation Nest vs Nest E

In this Nest Thermostat vs Nest E article, we’ll compare, rate and discuss the essential aspects of both thermostats. We’ll also present some detailed charts and, lastly, we’ll come up with a reasonable verdict and crown one as the leading product.

1. Setup Process

The first topic we need to cover is the setup process for both thermostats. It’s vital for every smart home product to be readily activatable since no one likes spending hours reading manuals and watching guides on YouTube.

Luckily, both Nest 3rd Gen Thermostat and Nest E have simple installation processes that only take a few minutes to complete.

If you’re interested how the setup works, let’s start with the Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation:

There’s no need to worry about the tools required to complete the setup. Nest’s package includes everything you’ll need to activate your thermostat. If you still have questions about the installation, refer to the user manual.

As for the Nest Thermostat E, it’s as easy to activate as the Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen. Nest has uploaded another guide that explains the whole setup process very clearly:

Frankly, setting up either of these two is a piece-of-cake-process that will not cause any trouble or extra headaches. If you somehow lose track during the installation, ensure you check the user manual. It’s well written and covers all the steps required to complete the activation.

Alternatively, you can reach out to the Nest support team. Their customer care department is superb. I’ve reached out a few times and always received professional answers and tips.

2. Design

It’s essential for all smart home products to have eye-catching and fitting designs. Since we’ll be installing these thermostats indoors, it’s vital for them to blend with their surroundings.

Everyone wants to make a purchase that’ll improve the overall attractiveness of their houses, so it’s crucial for Nest Thermostat and Nest E to look gorgeous.

Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen

While the latest Nest Thermostat design hasn’t changed much compared to its predecessors, a single touch is enough to understand the quality build of the thermostat.

With the Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen, you still get the same rounded design, stainless steel dial and a similar display.

There are a few changes, too.

The screen of the third-generation model is now 40% larger, and the on-screen image displays in better quality. Plus, the thermostat is now slimmer and doesn’t protrude from the surface where it’s mounted.

The Nest 3rd Gen measures just 84 x 84 x 32mm, and it weighs around a pound. Inside the thermostat are ten temperature sensors, as well as humidity, activity and ambient sensors. The 3rd generation model is way stronger than the original Nest.

On top of this, the thermostat has a Wi-Fi circuitry, a Bluetooth radio, and 512MB of memory.

I’ve seen the Nest 3rd Generation mounted in a lot of houses and spoken with dozens of owners. Everyone seems to be quite happy with how the thermostat looks. Some even mentioned that it catches the interest of guests, who tend to make complimentary comments about how good it looks.

Nest Thermostat E

The E is the same Nest Thermostat you’ve previously seen, but the company has made a few crucial changes.

Firstly, the E is smaller, made of plastic and all-white. If you’re wondering ‘Why the plastic cover?’, the Nest E was manufactured initially as a budget version of the Nest Thermostat.

The white screen stays blank until the motion sensor of the E detects your presence. It then lights up and displays the temperature settings.

Like every other Nest thermostat, you can control the E via the outer dial.

Visually, the Nest E is outstanding. I like how it blends with its surroundings. It looks even better and smarter if mounted on a white wall. The E measures 3.19 inches in diameter and is a bit smaller compared to its brother, Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen.

The main difference between the Nest 3 and third-generation model is the display resolution. While the E has a 320-by-320 resolution and uses frosted glass, the Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen is equipped with a 480-by-480 resolution.

I’ve also discussed the matter with other Nest E owners who noted that, unlike the 3rd generation model, the E doesn’t like to attract a lot of attention. It mostly sits quietly and rarely raises questions or curiosity.

3. Features

The next topic we have to write about is the features of both thermostats. Apart from the design, Nest has made a few changes to the E model. In order to find out the details, we’ve created a chart that lists all the essential features of these thermostats.

3rd Generation Nest	Nest E
Auto-Schedule	Auto-Schedule
Works With Alexa & Google Home	Works With Alexa & Google Home
Farsight	HVAC Compatible
Furnace Heads-Up	Furnace Heads-Up
Remote Control	Remote Control
Energy Reports	Energy Reports
Auto-Away	Auto-Away
Nest Leaf	Nest Leaf & Farsight
Airwave	Airwave

While both thermostats share a majority of the features, there are a few key points where the Nest E falls short.

To begin with, Nest E’s display can be hard to read, and the E version isn’t compatible with as many HVAC systems as the third-generation model.

The main issue we’ve faced while using the E thermostat was the inability to control multi-stage HVAC systems. If this is a concern for you, consider getting the 3rd generation Nest Thermostat.

4. Third-Party Integrations

Nest thermostats are well-known for having out-of-the-box third-party integrations. Nest E and Nest 3rd Generation models sync with the majority of popular smart home products.

The most notable and functional integrations are with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Being able to give voice-enabled commands is a huge perk.

Both thermostats integrate with every ‘Works with Nest’ initiative, and they also connect with other devices via IFTTT.

We’ve paired Nest E and Nest 3rd Gen with Amazon Alexa and connected the thermostats with other devices via IFTTT applets. Everything went smoothly, and as expected, none of these two had trouble understanding Alexa voice commands.

5. Sensing and Operating Patterns

This part of our article is the most crucial since the main reason why people purchase smart thermostats is due to their ability to monitor, adapt and act accordingly. If Nest E and Nest Thermostat 3rd Gen weren’t able to meet our expectations, it would be time to look for alternatives.

Nest Thermostat 3rd Generation

The Nest thermostat tracks your temperature preferences and schedules. It remembers your habits and programmes itself accordingly. Nest 3rd Gen is one of the top-notch, powerful and smartest thermostats on the market that has the highest ratings and positive reviews.

The most significant perk of the thermostat is the ability to lower utility bills. By learning your habits and preferences, it creates a custom plan that better serves your needs. It works with nearly every HVAC system, and the thermostat can control the whole heating and cooling process.

The 1-degree temperature swing guarantees the efficiency of Nest. In other words, if your house is 1-degree colder or warmer than your desired temperature, only then will the thermostat act.

It takes around a week of observation for the thermostat to fully understand your needs. You can also create a custom 7-day schedule, but you’ll be okay without even touching it (Nest can program itself).

Nest Thermostat also checks the outdoor weather and makes decisions based on the degree it will affect the indoor temperature.

The thermostat monitors humidity, temperature, light and movement. The only issue we experienced with the thermostat was the occasional remote sensor lags.

Another cool feature of the thermostat are the light and motion sensors that enable the ‘auto-away’ mode to preserve as much energy as possible. Nest also supports ‘geofencing’, which lets the thermostat track your phone’s location. It’s an efficient way to maximise the effectiveness of your smart thermostat.

Whenever you go out, Nest will take notice and deactivate (or switch to ECO mode) by itself. As soon as it detects that you’re nearby, it’ll reactivate and make things more comfortable. The thermostat also shows how long it takes to reach a certain degree.

If you previously owned the 2nd generation Nest, you might have noticed the geofencing issues it had. There were occasions when the 2nd gen switched to ECO mode thinking that no one was home.

Luckily, the 3rd Generation model relies on its sensors, your phone’s location and the information provided by other Nest devices (if you own some, of course). With the 3rd gen model, compared to the 2nd, we’ve rarely encountered it making such a mistake.

Monthly reports are one of my favourite features. Nest shows the exact amount of energy it uses and provides some tips to save more energy.

For the record, there’s also an ‘Energy Saving’ mode.

Lastly, the Airwave feature cuts the costs of AC by 30 percent. When the room reaches the desired temperature, Nest shuts down the AC compressors and leaves the fan running to distribute the leftover cold air.

Nest Thermostat E

It’s true that Nest thermostat and Nest E are quite similar in terms of features. The main difference between them is the simplicity of the E model.

In other words, if you want a basic home setup and do not own complicated HVAC systems, the E version will serve you well. Unlike the 3rd Gen Nest, the E model has only six wire terminals, which makes the thermostat less compatible with advanced HVAC systems.

The E model also has the Home/Away modes and supports geofencing Geofencing of E works flawlessly. As soon as it detects that you’re not home, it’ll activate the ECO mode to preserve as much energy as possible.

Testing both models was a pleasant experience. If it weren’t for the visual and minor HVAC compatibility difference, I would’ve barely noticed a difference.

Another cool thing about the E is that you don’t need a C-wire to run the thermostat. If you want to know whether E is compatible with your HVAC system, take a look at this.

The auto-adjusting schedule works perfectly, and the integrations with Amazon Alexa and Google Home are flawless. Nest E had zero trouble obeying the commands and checking the data for us.

What we didn’t like about the E is the display. If you don’t have perfect vision, you might have trouble checking the screen from a distance. The size of the E is a bit smaller compared to the original Nest thermostat.

Frankly, Nest Thermostat and Nest E are pretty much the same. The only difference is the design, price and HVAC compatibility.

6. Mobile Application

Nest Thermostats are mainly controlled using the mobile application. So it’s essential for the company to have a functional, reliable and straightforward mobile application.

Luckily, Nest’s mobile app is one of the best on the market. The thermostats share the Nest app which is also used for the Nest Cam, Protect and Doorbell.

I’ve rarely seen an app this good. It’s intuitive, straightforward and well-structured. Below, you can see pictures displaying the homepage of the app and a category called ‘Energy History’.

The display of the Nest E is different from the original Nest thermostat. The E interface matches the colours of the thermostats and makes the whole app more minimalistic (as seen in the picture above).

Using the app, you can control everything your thermostat does. You can change, keep or discard anything you think is unnecessary.

In short, the app is well-built, and we’ve never encountered it lagging, bugging or crashing. It truly is one of the best on the market.

Nest 3rd Generation Thermostat Review: Key Takeaway

Lastly, before concluding our Nest E vs Nest Thermostat article, we’d like to present critical takeaways for both devices for you to better understand exactly how these two differ and what they have in common.

The Nest Thermostat is the main competitor of the Ecobee4 and is one of the best devices on the market. It’s reliable, smart and durable.

• Farsight – This feature makes the thermostat desirable since it’s one of the few Nest products to support it. Farsight displays additional information on its surface that might be useful to you. It can show things like time, room temperature, the weather or your target temperature.
• Voice-Enabled Commands – 3rd Gen Nest ideally syncs with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. We paired the thermostat with both, and everything went smoothly.
• HVAC Compatibility – Nest stated that the latest thermostat is compatible with 95% of HVAC systems, including the most complicated ones.
• Third-Party Integrations – Nest integrates with everything except HomeKit and SmartThings. It’s one of the most third-party integration friendly devices on the market.

Nest’s 3rd Gen Thermostat is an advanced device that’ll serve any householder who wants to add another smart device to their arsenal. Nest works perfectly with other smart products and quickly gets the job done.

It’s one of the best-performing smart thermostats on the market.

Nest E Thermostat Review: Key Takeaway

Since the competitors of Nest released lower-priced thermostats, Nest accepted the challenge and released the ‘budget version’ of the original device.

Nest E is quite popular now and does the majority of things the original Nest thermostat promises. The third-party integrations, Farsight and Alexa & Google Assistant integrations are the same for Nest E. It’s less HVAC compatible, though.

• Price – Inexpensiveness is the primary card E holds. It’s a lot cheaper compared to the Nest Thermostat and yet has all the critical features.
• Minimalistic – E’s design is gorgeous. It’s my favourite-looking thermostat that blends with its surroundings in an optimal way.
• HVAC Systems – The fact that Nest E can’t control multi-stage HVAC systems is quite sad. But if you don’t plan on using the thermostat like that, it won’t be an issue for you.

The E thermostat is as good as the 3rd Generation Nest. It has all the features and capabilities and retails at a lower price. It’s a wonderful choice for anyone wanting to get a smart thermostat

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a functional, reliable and durable smart thermostat, Nest E and Nest 3rd Gen Thermostats are the best options on the market. If you’re on a budget and don’t have the need to control complicated HVAC systems, the E model will meet your needs.

On the other hand, if you want the extra perks the 3rd Generation Nest offers, it’s the way to go. 3rd Gen Nest is a break-through product and one of the most powerful thermostats on the market.

To wrap this up, Nest thermostats are perfect for those who want to save money on energy bills. These little tools and their attendant perks all help to keep things cosy and balanced.