Why Nest is the next iPhone

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Thermostats haven’t ever made the most fascinating dinner conversation – until now. The new Nest Learning Thermostat is beautiful, functional, and efficient, and since its developers founded their own company after working for Apple, it comes with the hipster-seal-of-approval. After designing iPods, iPhones, and their software, these guys know a little about convincing us we can’t live without something we’ve never needed before – but thermostats?

The rationale behind this suprising product line is simple: Heating and cooling account for about half of a home’s energy use. Properly programmed thermostats can cut heating and cooling costs by 20%, but as many as 90% of programmable thermostats are rarely or never programmed.

Their solution is a thermostat that’s Apple-inspired elegant and can:

Learn your preferred temperatures and schedule.
Sense when you left the house or came home.Give you tips and feedback on your energy use.
Connect to Wi-Fi so you could control it from anywhere.
Look good (of course).
Make you feel proud to own it.
Have a positive impact on the world.

Nest can do that.

Is Nest the coolest thing that’s ever happened to thermostats? Absolutely. But Nest retails for $249 – at least five times the price of a good-quality programmable thermostat – and you need one for each heating zone. Is it really worth it? It’s too soon to tell – but then again, I’m happily paying for a smart phone that seemed ridiculously unnecessary a few years ago.

Energy efficiency geeks can become early-adopters and keep the rest of us posted. In the meantime, I’ll follow Energy Star’s guidelines for my boring-but-efficient programmable thermostat – and keep investing in improving my home’s thermal envelope. Insulation and air-sealing aren’t as flashy as Nest, but I know they’ll work.

Contact us today to learn more!

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Led by Brian Robinson, the Evergreen Home Performance team just completed an insulation refit at my home. It was truly a great experience from start to finish, a period of time that was a fraction of the time that I originally anticipated due to the team's unbelievable work habits and professional knowledge of their tasks. As impressive were the communication skills and friendliness of each and every member of the team.

Anne W.

Rockport

Really great experience from start to finish with Evergreen. They helped us prioritize what needed to be completed first, and has made a significant difference in our hearing costs already. Plus they were really friendly and considerate to work with!

Amy W.

Kennebunk

Working with Brian and with Nate and the rest of the crew was a pleasure. They made everything very easy and understandable. This was a major renovation and they were always at the ready with a lot of information. We had an extensive renovation on the basement which was a dirt basement and it came out beautifully. We can already tell from all of the insulation work what a difference it's made in sound and temperature. Brian worked with me on the rebates that are available when you do this kind of work. I would highly recommend this company to…

Valerie L.

Rockland

Evergreen completed the work at my home thoroughly and professionally. An inspector from Efficiency Maine came to inspect afterwards and described it as "state of the art" and "outstanding". The crew was very pleasant and considerate during the project. Their cleanup each day was perfect. Communications with the office were easy and reliable. I am very satisfied.

Catherine H.

South Portland

Several years ago Brian Robinson evaluated the crawl space at my summer home on Islesboro where I knew moisture was becoming a problem. I had done quite a bit of work in the space many years prior with mixed results. When Brian offered some suggestions, they were ideas that incorporated work previously done, and would be a relatively low cost effort to improve the situation. He offered this advice over several phone conversations of some length, informally, and at no charge.

Cliff R.

Islesboro

We initially contacted Evergreen through Efficiency Maine for an energy audit, which was conducted promptly and professionally by Justin McEdward, one of their Energy Advisors who is BPI-certified. After a thorough inspection of our newly purchased home, Justin explained in great detail what we needed and did not need. It was agreed that Evergreen would remove all of the existing attic insulation, which was not adequate, and replace it with blown in cellulose, to a rating of R-60.

Thomas W.

Scarborough

I was extremely pleased with the professionalism and quality of service that I received from the Evergreen team. I met Richard to discuss options for insulation. I knew immediately that I wanted to do business with them because he did not try to over-sell extra services that I did not need. Dave was the project manager. He was not only kind, but very respectful of my home. I would highly recommend this company.

Darlyann M

Bath

The Evergreen Team did a fabulous job, well exceeding our expectations, In just over a week they transformed our very drafty, noisy 213 year old house into a snug, draft-free, quiet haven with warm floors! The team was prompt, did everything they said they'd do and more. We are thrilled!

Trudy M.

Bridgton

The team members were very professional, worked very hard, paid very close attention to detail and cleaned up meticulously every day. I really appreciated the care they took knowing the smallest details were going to make a big difference to our heating bills. Thank you!

Pam B.

Brunswick

The folks at Evergreen did a great job fixing a rather major insulation problem in my house, which they helped identify with a great audit. When the work began, they were thorough, upbeat, and -- dare I say it -- efficient. I strongly recommend them.

Michael Williams

Evergreen has a professional and reliable team of people who do excellent work. If you want the best of the best in the area, select Evergreen to accomplish your insulation needs.

Mary E.

St. George

Very Satisfied with the work performed by Evergreen. Professional employees, high quality work done in a timely manner. My sales rep was Justin, and he was phenomenal During the initial walk around my house, he gave me great ideas for how to improve the efficiency of our home. We will consult with Evergreen for our future home projects.

Adam G.

Westbrook

"Working with Evergreen from start to finish was a great experience." See what our customers have to say about their experience with Evergreen Home Performance.

Jeff L.

We are so pleased with the work the team from Evergreen Home Performance did in our home. The project included encapsulation of our basement with a reinforced vapor barrier, installation of a sump pump, spray foam insulation on the walls and insulation of the heating duct work. Everyone at Evergreen was friendly and professional. The project was completed on time and in budget. Our home is much cozier and warmer since the project was completed.

Linda Metzger

Thorough, smart, informative, integrated, and communicative -- that's how my experience was with Evergreen even with the covid interruption midstream. The team picked up where they left off, insulated basement and air sealed attic and knee wall in 100' temps under the eaves! This business group was a pleasure to work with.

Karen W.

Gray

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