A smart home doesn’t need to just add fun and convenience. Asking your TV to start up and play a specific movie isn’t how the smart home can be taken advantage of. Smart homes should allow people to save money and live comfortably.
One of the best ways for a person to do both is through a smart thermostat. There’s no longer the need for your great uncle to go to the thermostat every 12 minutes to adjust it. Smart thermostats allow you to specifically set up your home to ensure it has the optimal temperature and conditions. Not every smart thermostat is created equally. They have different prices and work differently.
A good thermostat should be easy to install and work on the low voltage of a person’s HVAC system, rather than a power outlet. They should function on a geofence system (when the smartphone leaves the house, obviously you’re not there). It should feature remote access and good sensors to measure temperatures. Comparing the best smart thermostats can allow you to determine exactly which smart thermostat you should implement in your home.
1 - Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd iteration)
Google owns Nest. Since this, it’s not surprising that Nest continues to develop their technology. Nest is a smart thermostat that allows for it to alter the temperature based on conditions within the home. There’s no need for the AC to be turned on when there’s no one home after all. Nest is incredibly easy to use and most people don’t even need to think about it. There are some downsides to Nest though. Nest products interact with each other well. Nest offers security cams and carbon monoxide warnings as well. Nest tools interact with each other really well! But they don’t interact with anything else unfortunately.
2 - Lyric T5 Smart Thermostat
The Lyric T5 is a great thermostat for people who aren’t concerned with too many bells and whistles. This option comes in at a lower price around $130 depending on the vendor. This can be less than half the cost of some other smart thermostats. It allows for easy temperature scheduling and can be accessed via a smartphone. However, the downside is that it is unable to access and control items like dehumidifiers, humidifiers or ventilators.
3 - Ecobee4
The new Ecobee4 has managed to sneak in and add Alexa support from the Ecobee3. This offering shows moderate pricing with full features. Another additional benefit to the Ecobee4 is that it allows you to place sensors throughout your home to measure temperature instead of just in a single location. This means that it gets a better idea of real temperature rather than perhaps what it’s like in an unused hallway. Compatibility isn’t an issue as it works and syncs with essentially every other smart device out there. There’s really not a lot of downsides to the Ecobee4 currently.
4 - Nest Thermostat E
This is the second Nest offering on this list and has a similar level of functionality with other models. It is considered to be more of a bargain option and it doesn’t control all HVAC systems. Compatibility needs to be checked before purchasing one. The Nest Thermostat E is made from plastic, which helped to reduce costs producing it.
