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One z-wave motion sensor and the cheapest Vera hub would cost $200-250. Getting more out of the Nest he already owns costs $0.

A motion/temperature sensor from Monoprice: $30.

A VeraLite-G (eBay make an offer): $135.

A Z-Wave thermostat (2-gig CT100 that can display humidity on the main display): $80 (I got a couple for $62 on sale)

No dependency on Google to control your home: priceless.

Disclosure: I use MasterCard sometimes.

Are you trying to say that those parts are equivalent to a Nest? That's like saying some wheels, an engine, 4 doors == BMW.

He's saying it's functionally equivalent. engine + 4 doors + wheels = working car.

I owned a BMW once and you literally could not tinker with the car yourself. The engine was a sealed black box. Kind of like the Nest.

I'm saying that you can put together a better (customized) system than Nest with these parts without relying on any external services.