Best smart thermostat: Reviews and buying advice

• Published in: TechHive
• Main Author: D'Aprile, Jason
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Needham Foundry 24.06.2022
• Subjects: Adapters; Air conditioners; Air quality; Budgets; Compatibility; Cost control; Design engineering; Energy consumption; Households; Humidity; HVAC; HVAC equipment; Industrial design; Monitors; Motion perception; Motion sensors; Prices; Radar detection; Remote sensors; Sensors; Shaking; Smart buildings; Thermostats; Voice control; Wire

Best smart thermostat for every budget and HVAC system type Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium — Best smart thermostat overall Pros * Beautiful industrial design * Broad compatibility with other smart home ecosystems * Outstanding user interface, both in the excellent app and on the device itself * Radar-based motion detection, plus support for remote temperature/motion sensors * Supremely easy to install and configure Cons * Siri support requires the presence of an Apple HomePod or HomePod mini * Air quality sensor won't trigger your HVAC system's fan to circulate air * Pricey MSRP: $249.99 Best Prices Today: $249.99 at Amazon | $249.99 at Ecobee | $249.99 at Lowe’s Nest usually gets all the attention—and the company deserves credit for shaking up a once sleepy market—but Ecobee’s latest smart thermostat is the best you can buy today. Read our full Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd generation) review Amazon Smart Thermostat — Best budget-priced smart thermostat Pros * Automatically learns your heating and cooling needs * Can be controlled with Alexa voice commands * Broadly compatible with 24V HVAC systems Cons * Not compatible with Google Assistant * Not compatible with Apple HomeKit * Power adapter kit costs extra if your HVAC system doesn’t have a C-wire Best Prices Today: $59.99 at Amazon Amazon wins this category with the least expensive, most sophisticated smart thermostat in its price range, and that goes double for households that revolve around Amazon’s Alexa, since it’s not compatible with Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit. Read our full Amazon Smart Thermostat review Nest Thermostat — Best budget-priced smart thermostat, runner-up Pros * Attractive industrial design, available in four colors * Very easy to install, program, and use * Monitors your HVAC system for potential problems * Energy Star certified Cons * No support for remote room sensors * Not suited to more complex HVAC systems * Backplate for covering holes from previous installations is a $15 option Best Prices Today: $99.00 at Amazon It’s hard to beat the Nest team when it comes to attractive industrial design, and the Nest Thermostat is an elegant device if you don’t need to support more sophisticated HVAC systems or you don’t care that it doesn’t support remote sensors that can eliminate hot and cold spots in your home. Read our full Mysa Smart Thermostat review Sensibo Air — Best controller for a stand-alone air conditioner Pros * Secondary sensor that monitors motion as well as temperature and humidity * Lots of air-conditioner control options * Compatible with many brands of stand-alone air conditioners Cons * It will take a lot of energy savings to recoup the price * Single-band (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi adapter * No onboard controls or UI on the main unit MSRP: $199.00 Best Prices Today: $179.00 at Sensibo If you don’t have a central HVAC system, or if your supplement one with one or more stand-alone air conditioners, the Sensibo Air will make those units smarter and more efficient.