Nest Teams Up With Automatic for Energy Saving Temperature Tweaks Based on Vehicle Activity

During CES 2015, Nest announced a number of new partnerships, including one with auto accessory maker Automatic. For those unfamiliar with Automatic, the company produces an easy-to-use OBD port accessory that plugs into a range of different vehicles to provide at-a-glance car information on the iPhone.

Automatic's Connected Car Adapter is now capable of interfacing with the Nest Thermostat, letting customers create new interactions that will allow the Nest Thermostat to be adjusted based on vehicle activity.

For example, users can create a setting in the Nest app that wakes the Nest up when the car gets near to the house, or set it to Away mode when leaving to save energy. The Nest and Automatic integration allows the thermostat to detect the location of the car, so it's possible to set the Nest Thermostat to adjust house temperatures as a user is driving towards their home.

A wide variety of rules can be created through the new integration between the two products, using filters for location, time of day, day of the week, and more, for more precise control over temperature when away from the home.

The Automatic integration offers customers a chance to maximize potential savings through intelligently chosen rules that give the Nest thermostat a more timely understanding of when heating or cooling is needed--and when it's not needed.

"At Automatic, we've focused on saving people money from the very start with our fuel-efficiency coaching, which has saved many users hundreds per year on fuel costs. Now we're thrilled to extend the connected car's benefits into people's homes, to make life more automated, convenient, and efficient," said Thejo Kote, CEO of Automatic. "The home and car are people's two most expensive budget items. The Automatic and Nest platforms now work together to make those less of a burden in every way we can."

Both Nest and Automatic have been working hard to build partnerships to connect their products to a range of other devices. Automatic, for example, also integrates with the Jawbone UP, select Ford vehicles, and app IFTTT.

The Nest Thermostat can be purchased from the Nest website for $249.

The Automatic connected car adapter can be purchased from the Automatic website for $99.95.