With so many smart thermostats on the market, narrowing down your choices can be tough. Most people know they want one that they can program with a schedule and control with their phone–but are there other factors that set specific models apart from the competition?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your options, our HVAC experts recommend one of these four thermostats:
- Honeywell T10
- Nest
- Lennox iComfort® S30
- ecobee4
Not only are they smartphone-compatible, but they come with practical features that we will discuss in more detail below.
Honeywell T10
Key Features: RedLINK™ Room Sensor, geofencing
Not only is the Honeywell T10 compatible with smartphones, but it also works with several virtual assistants, including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Whereas standard thermostats respond to temperatures in their immediate vicinity, the T10 comes with a RedLINK™ Room Sensor to extend its sensing range up to 200 feet. This also allows you to prioritize the temperature of a particular room over others. Buying additional sensors enables you to do this with more rooms.
Using the Honeywell Home app, your thermostat can use geofencing to tell when you’re approaching home. This means that you’ll always come home to a house that’s your ideal temperature after a long day out and about. This ENERGY STAR® Certified thermostat also controls ventilation, humidification, and dehumidification.
Nest
Key Features: self-learning, Airwave™ technology, built-in motion sensor
Nest thermostats are “self-learning” in that your Nest will learn what temperatures you prefer and program itself in approximately seven days. You still have the option of controlling it manually and can connect it to a virtual assistant, such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa. If you need to adjust the thermostat while away from home, you can do it from your phone.
While a Nest thermostat is known to be one of the pricier options on the market, what most folks don’t know is that a Nest can save a household up to $173 annually compared to a standard programmable thermostat.
- To guide your energy usage, your Nest will tell you when you’ve selected an energy-efficient temperature, and you can check monthly and daily reports about your home’s energy usage.
- The Nest also comes with Airwave™ technology, which will automatically turn your AC off a few minutes early while still running the fan to circulate cool air.
- The thermostat contains a built-in motion sensor that allows it to determine whether or not anyone is at home. The Nest then sets the temperature accordingly.
Lennox iComfort® S30
Key features: geofencing, Feels Like™ feature, alerts and notifications, Allergen Defender
The iComfort® S30 comes equipped with several features to make your home more comfortable and help you reduce your energy usage, including hourly, daily, and monthly usage reports. Like the Honeywell T10, the iComfort ® S30 uses geofencing to detect when your family is away from home or approaching home so that it can adjust your system’s temperature accordingly.
Does your home never feel like the temperature displayed on your current thermostat? The S30’s Feels Like™ feature takes into account outdoor temperature, indoor temperature, and indoor humidity to create a temperature that truly feels like the one you want. The S30 can also help you provide your HVAC system with the care it needs by alerting you and your HVAC dealer when something is wrong and giving you reminders to change your air filter.
The S30 has an additional feature to benefit allergy sufferers. Its built-in Allergen Defender monitors the pollen levels and air quality in your ZIP code. If pollen levels are high, your thermostat will turn on your system’s fan to help clean your home’s air.
ecobee4
Key features: multi-room temperature sensors, alerts, built-in Amazon Alexa
Similar to the Honeywell T10, the ecobee4 comes with sensors that enable it to detect temperatures beyond its immediate surroundings. This thermostat is also able to send you notifications when your house passes a certain temperature or humidity level so that you can adjust your home’s settings remotely if needed. When you’re at home, you can voice-control your ecobee4 with Amazon Alexa.
You can program this thermostat with three ideal schedules for “Home,” “Sleep,” and “Away” to cut down on energy costs. Your ecobee4 will provide you with an easy-to-read history of your energy usage, and Amazon Alexa can use this information to provide energy-saving tips tailored to you.
At Woodward Heating Air Plumbing, our technicians have the expertise to help you select and install the perfect smart thermostat for your home. Contact us online, or call us at (503) 739-8035.
