Nest Thermostat Acquisition Is Google's Home Invasion

On Monday, Google announced the second-biggest acquisition in its history. The tech giant shelled out $3.2 billion for smart-thermostat manufacturer Nest Labs of Palo Alto, California. But what does Google want with your central heating? And what could this mean for the future of "smart homes"?

"Nest has always been a company that's been interested not just in devices but also the data and algorithms behind them," says Sara Watson at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. "Obviously that's going to pique Google's interest."

The Nest thermostat is designed to learn when and how you like to heat your home. After a 12-day set-up period, the device has learned your basic schedule, is able to turn the heating on and off intelligently, and in the process it attempts to save you energy by only firing up the boiler when you really need it.