Nest support postponed indefinitely
Added 2019-05-14 14:01:00 +0000 UTCMore info here: https://nest.com/whats-happening/
Nest support has always been something I've been interested in with beestat. The original plan was to start with ecobee, and then after I had done everything I wanted I would pivot and begin to work on other implementations.
As I geared up to begin finally diving into this, I was met with a number of roadblocks.
1. Nest wasn't allowing new developer accounts. This was due to some future announcement about a restructuring of their API.
2. The Nest TOS prohibited exactly what beestat does. I would not be allowed to store/aggregate more than 10 days of data. With such a minuscule amount of data, beestat would be rendered almost completely worthless to Nest owners.
I was hoping to make some progress on the above two points, but every attempt I made to reach out was met with silence...and now I know why.
Last week Google announced the "restructuring" of their developer program, among other things related to the Nest ecosystem. Essentially, all but a few trusted third party integrations will stop working in August. I'm not optimistic about any possible future API access. Google's desire to control their smart home devices through their proprietary Google Home platform leaves little question in my mind that beestat will ever be a possibility.
So, for now I'm moving on. I will continue to watch and see what Google does with their API and attempt to reach out to them again in the Fall after they complete their migration. For all those who were waiting for Nest support: I'm sorry.
Ecobee: If you're reading this, please don't change, and don't sell out. We need leaders who are passionate about the environment and willing to stay the course. We need products with open APIs developed with the consumer in mind, not shareholders. Google wants full control over their smart home experience, and they'll get it. They'll probably continue to be successful, too, but at what cost? In one announcement they decimated an ecosystem and stifled innovation on their platform. You've inspired my passion; let's keep making a difference together.
Comments
No, it only works with ecobee at the moment. The nice thing about ecobee is that I can get 5 minute resolution on the data without having to poll your thermostat every 5 minutes. This is because I have access to historical data from ecobee. Adding support for other thermostats isn't off the table, but handling the historical data is going to be the biggest problem to overcome because *something* is going to have to store that data. I can't afford to ping thousands of thermostats every 5 minutes...it's a bit impractical. The closest thing that we have right now is MQTT, but that doesn't really solve the problems...it's just a common protocol that other platforms tend to use. See here: https://github.com/ziebelje/beestat-issues/issues/15
2019-05-14 15:35:51 +0000 UTCJon, Does beestat work with any other non-cloud thermostats? I LOVE my ecobee, but the writing is on the wall. I assume if it's not cloud we would need some type of proxy/server to collect and transmit the data which would add an additional layer of complexity. Just curious.
Lee Kimrey
2019-05-14 15:20:18 +0000 UTC
