With people working from home more often due to the pandemic, the demand for a good thermostat is higher than ever. Fortunately, many companies offer high-tech thermostats that are designed to save homeowners money throughout the year.
Smart thermostats are highly specialized home comfort tools that can adapt to their owners’ behavior and tailor your home temperature to indoor heating and cooling patterns as well as outdoor weather conditions. You can also connect them to your smartphone, which means you can control your thermostat from remote locations and you won’t even have to get up from your bed or couch to change the temperature around your house.
But with so many of these systems on the market, trying to find the right thermostat for your home can be difficult. In this article, we’re going to detail the best smart thermostats that maximize both your home energy savings and overall comfort. We’ll be looking at our selections based on their defining features, whether that be their price, remote control compatibility, or their overall versatility.
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Best Smart Thermostats for 2020
Here are picks for the best smart thermostats:
- Nest Thermostat E
- Sensibo Sky
- Honeywell Home T9
- Nest Learning Thermostat v.3
- EcoBee Smart Thermostat
Nest Thermostat E
Starting out on the cheaper side of things, the Nest Thermostat E is an excellent choice for any homeowner that wants a cheap yet versatile product. It comes in at around $138 on Amazon, and contains many of the features present in other top smart thermostats on the market.
Brandishing a round puck design, the Nest Thermostat E comes with clearly marked connector ports that allow you to connect your home’s HVAC wiring in minutes. It also sports a simple white design with an easy-to-use dial that increases its inviting and tactile feel.
The Thermostat E also has an Eco mode that’s designed to save you money by working at greater efficiency. You can set up your thermostat to enter Eco mode whenever you’re not at home. Other features such as Nest Sense, which picks up on your air conditioning habits, and AirWave, which shuts off your AC compressor to save power, will undoubtedly increase your home’s energy efficiency.
Since the Thermostat E is made of plastic, users might be wary of its durability. It also only comes in white, which might deter some people who have trouble seeing text displayed over a white interface. Nevertheless, it’s one of the best smart thermostats you can buy for a low price, and we recommend it to anyone looking for a cost-efficient option for their home energy needs
Buy on AmazonSensibo Sky
Say you live in an older home that doesn’t have a central heating or cooling system. In these cases, many of our options on this list aren’t much use since they’re not compatible with those types of homes.
That’s where Sensibo Sky comes in. There aren’t many options for in-wall or window air conditioner thermostats, but we believe Sensibo Sky ticks all the requisite boxes to make your home energy efficient for a low installation price.
Costing around $115, Sensibo Sky is able to pair with your window AC in minutes, making for an easy installation process. It doesn’t have the typical round puck design featured in other smart thermostats, sporting more of an inconspicuous design. It’s also remote-controlled, meaning homeowners can control their temperatures from the comfort of their bed, couch, or anywhere they might be lounging without getting up.
Just because it’s mostly remote-controlled doesn’t mean the Sensibo Sky is lacking in features either. It allows you to set multiple schedules for your AC units and has a geofencing mode that turns your AC units on when you enter your home.
While users might not enjoy being able to control the temperature and other features through an in-wall device, the Sensibo Sky is an affordable and viable option for anyone looking to make an older home more energy efficient at a low cost.
Buy on AmazonHoneywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat
For homeowners that enjoy a larger display for their thermostat, the Honeywell Home T9 might be their go-to. It ditches the typical round puck style and instead incorporates a large rectangular design with an intuitive touch screen that makes it incredibly easy to use.
However, the T9’s most impressive feature is its sensors, which measure the temperature and can tell if there’s anyone present in the home. The thermostat then uses that information to control the HVAC output to ensure better comfort around the entire home. This makes the T9 an excellent option for homes with rooms that vary greatly in temperature.
Although the T9 isn’t as cheap as the other two options, it still runs at a fair $199 with sensors and $169 without the sensors. It also has a mobile app that allows users to control their home temperatures from their phones, though many have criticized its app design as being rather clunky.
Nevertheless, the T9’s large display makes navigating its options incredibly easy and its functional sensors are sure to save you money when heating or cooling your home year-round.
Buy on AmazonNest Learning Thermostat – 3rd Generation
It’s tough to argue that the Nest Learning Thermostat v.3 is the best looking smart thermostat out there. If you’re partial to the round-puck thermostat design, this might be the pick for you based on looks alone. Its sleek black design contrasts extremely well with the text, meaning you won’t be squinting your eyes just to see what temperature your home is at.
But we aren’t recommending the v.3 just for its looks. The thermostat includes an auto-schedule feature that turns on your AC at specific times in the day. It’s also equipped with sensors that can automatically turn on the heater or cooler as soon as you enter your home. This increases your home energy efficiency by ensuring your AC won’t be running when it doesn’t need to be.
The v.3’s installation is quick and easy, with only about an hour’s work needed to screw in the thermostat and get it working. It even includes a screwdriver and a step-by-step guide, which is extremely helpful. The v.3 is also integrated with mobile devices and works with multiple smart home devices.
The v.3 comes in at around $249 but can be purchased in a variety of different finishes like copper, brass, and white. For anyone looking for a comprehensive solution to home energy efficiency, there are few options better than the Nest Learning Thermostat v.3. Plus, its sleek design will fit in with practically any home.
Buy on AmazonEcoBee Smart Thermostat
We’d be hard-pressed to recommend another smart thermostat other than the EcoBee. It’s widely regarded as the best product on the thermostat market for its built-in sensors that can be installed in more than one room. It also has speakers that can be connected to Spotify, making it an extremely versatile device.
The sensors have a long battery life of up to 5 years and can sense whenever you’re in a room to set the temperatures accordingly. It has much better sensors than previous iterations, making your home more energy-efficient without the cost of its user having to constantly monitor the temperature.
It also has built-in speakers that can play music in the background and can be programmed to give you weather updates. You can also pair with a 180-degree camera that acts as both a security system and another sensor to tell when you or another resident enters your home.
Coming in at around $249, the EcoBee Smart Thermostat is arguably the most versatile smart thermostat on the market, taking full advantage of the word “smart” as part of its design. Not all users will find a use for all its features, but it’s still a surefire way to save money on energy bills come winter or summer months.
Buy on AmazonHow to choose the right thermostat for your home
We’ve laid out some of the best smart thermostat options, but the question still stands: which one should I choose for my home?
Because the price range is so varied among our options, that’s probably where most people will look when making their decision.
Generally speaking, the pricier thermostats that go for over $200 are ones that should be integrated into larger homes with complex HVAC systems. If you have rooms that vary in temperature and insulation, these more expensive options might be a good investment. Because they often come with one or two high-powered sensors along with its mobile compatibility, the higher price accounts for its greater versatility.
The majority of smart thermostats, however, are priced in the $100 to $200 range. For many homeowners, these devices might be the way to go. Your home might not have complex HVAC systems, which make them a perfect fit for these thermostats, as they usually aren’t equipped to deal with such demands. However, they still retain many features from the more expensive options, such as sensors, auto-scheduling, Eco modes, and mobile compatibility. We’d recommend surfing this price range if you have a smaller or mid-size home and aren’t looking to spend too much money on smart thermostats.
Anything around $100 and below are options such as the Sensibo Sky that don’t have attractive looking thermostat designs but still get the job done. They’re more suited for homes that don’t have central HVAC systems at all. But people still want to save money on their energy bills, and you’ll likely find functional smart thermostats even in this price range.
Whatever your needs may be, investing in a smart thermostat is an important step in creating a more energy-efficient and comfortable home. To make sure you’re purchasing the right device for you, your family, and your home, contact a local independent authorized yellowblue dealer. Our dealers can help you select the best smart thermostat for your home and show you other ways to save energy all year long.
