My parents have bought a new apartment by the sea, which they frequent every weekend. During the week they leave the apartment uninhabited when they return to their other residence and so, especially during this time of year, they turn the thermostat way down.

My father was complaining the other day how he hates entering the apartment every week when it's so cold, and it takes about an hour or two to re-heat to a comfortable temperature. My parents don't arrive every week on the same hour, otherwise this could be fixed with a schedule.

I was thinking: what they need is a thermostat that can be controlled remotely. Either by sending a text message, or maybe there are units out there which can be controlled over the internet? I was wondering if the Nest thermostat was be able to do this? They have WiFi in the apartment, so if the unit is capable of connecting to this, then maybe this is possible? In essence, I'm not asking for much: simply a thermostat which can be turned on or off remotely so they can switch it on when they start their drive and then it would be warm by the time they arrive. Optionally, it would be nice if the temperature could be controlled remotely as well, but this would not be an indispensable feature.