Nest to launch its thermostat and smoke alarm in France, Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland

Google’s Nest connected home platform will expand across Europe later this month with the release of its learning thermostat and smoke alarm in Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Nest’s products will be available in 400 retail stores across the continent at launch, followed by another 150 stores by the end of the year. On the utility side, the company has partnered with energy companies Direct Energie, Essent and Lampiris.

Previously, Nest was only available in the US, Canada and the UK, though the company says that users have installed its thermostat in over 120 countries.

While the Nest thermostat certainly looks better and is more convenient, I’ve had some trouble with it. When I installed the device earlier this year, it had trouble charging from my A/C system. Nest offered to pay for the installation of a common wire, but convincing a contractor to come out to my house for such a small job took several months.

Hopefully, Nest’s new customers in Europe will have better luck with their devices than I did. If not, at least they’ll have localized support teams to help them get through it.

➤ Nest