Less than a year after the launch of the Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Labs (www.nest.com) -- founded by Apple alums Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers -- has announced the next-generation of the Nest thermostat, which is 20% slimmer and now compatible with 95%of low-voltage residential heating and cooling systems.

Nest is also releasing version 3.0 of its software. New and existing customers will get several industry-first features that help to even better balance comfort and conservation, says Fadell, Nest founder and CEO.

The second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat has a new all-stainless steel ring that mirrors your wall color or pattern to create a chameleon effect and blend into any décor even more effectively, he adds. It extends support to two-stage cooling, three-stage heating, and emergency heat for heat pumps, as well as whole-home humidifiers and dehumidifiers.

To help you get the most out of your system and save even more energy, the Nest Learning Thermostat now includes:

° System Match -- Almost all thermostats are made for conventional forced air systems, but not all systems are conventional. Energy-efficient systems need special control to help them save energy while providing comfort. With System Match, Nest activates custom features depending on what system you have to keep you comfortable and help you save energy.

° Early-On -- For forced air systems, you can get the temperature you want when you want it. If your schedule says 72ºF at 6 a.m., Early-On will start heating or cooling early so it’ll be 72ºF when your alarm rings at 6 a.m.. Nest also calculates the health of your system’s air filter -- based on system runtime -- and reminds you to change it when needed to maintain efficiency.

° True Radiant --No more turning on the radiant heat at 4 a.m. so you can be warm by morning. True Radiant delivers predictable comfort with all the energy savings you expect from a radiant system, says Fadell.

° Heat Pump Balance -- Nest's exclusive Heat Pump Balance feature optimizes how often you need to use expensive auxiliary (AUX) heat. Just choose whether you want more comfort or more savings, and Heat Pump Balance will automatically adjust when AUX heat comes on.
° Enhanced Auto-Away and Auto-Schedule -- Nest personalizes the Auto-Away start time for each home and can now enter Auto-Away as soon as 30 minutes after you’ve left the house.

° Broader mobile support -- More than 90% of connected Nest owners use the remote control feature, so in addition to support on computer web browsers, apps for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones, Nest now supports Android tablets, including Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire.

° Additional languages -- You can now select English, French or Spanish as your default language on Nest and the Nest apps.

The second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat is available for pre-order now at www.nest.com at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$249. It will ship to U.S. and Canadian customers beginning in mid-October. In the U.S., the second-generation Nest thermostat will also be available later this month at Amazon, Apple’s online store, and in all 1,700-pllus Lowe’s stores. Nest Software 3.0 will be delivered automatically to existing customers, beginning tonight.

The original Nest Learning Thermostat now has an MSRP of $229 and is available at Lowe’s while supplies last.