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At CNET, we were Test smart thermostats For years, so it’s always surprising to hear, “What is a smart thermostat?” But only a small portion of American families, about 17%In fact, use smart thermostats. That’s too bad, because they’re one of me Favorite smart home innovationsand display Advantages that are useful to almost everyone.
So what’s the difference, apart from the flashy new touchscreen designs? I’ll walk you through what’s new with these thermostats and how your heating and cooling system will never be the same (Neither will your energy bills).
Scheduled heating and cooling
Thermostats like Ecobee allow for easier scheduling from a distance.
Both smart and traditional thermostats have programmable settings, allowing you to set temperature limits for specific hours and days of the week, and change them as the seasons change. The biggest difference is that smart thermostats make this much easier.
With older programmable thermostats, you’re often stuck programming with the thermostat’s manual controls. Smart thermostats allow you to set schedules from an app, no matter where you are, and you can usually save schedules and switch between them quickly, making the process significantly smoother.
Read more: Do not place your thermostat in these locations
Costs
You can find a standard programmable thermostat without any bells and whistles Under $20 from brands like Honeywell Home (Although the ones with fancy touchscreens will cost more), so it’s an easy way to save money if you need a replacement. Smart thermostats, with all their added features, cost a lot more. Amazon has one of the cheapest prices at under $100But for something Like Nest’s fourth-generation learning thermostatyou will have to pay approximately $300.
If you’re worried about upfront costs, regular thermostats cost much less than smart thermostats.
Energy saving
Programmable thermostats will save you money, as long as you are Stay within strict temperature settings at certain times of the day and night. Smart thermostats don’t necessarily save more, but they do make saving money much easier and homes tend to save more as a result, since very few users have the time to constantly adjust a standard thermostat to maximize savings.
With settings like economy modes and monthly energy savings reports, smart thermostats tend to save the average household significant amounts of money. Google Nest studies have estimated the average user Saves about 15% on energy bills annuallyWhile Ecobee says users can save Up to 26% at maximum. This is enough to cover the initial costs of a smart thermostat within a year or two.
Some smart thermostats are very nice, but it’s their control options that matter.
Remote operation
A regular thermostat has no app connections and will at most have a remote control that you can use from around the house. Meanwhile, smart thermostats have Wi-Fi communications and apps. This means that as long as you have your phone and a connection, you can make changes to your thermostat.
For some people, this is an important feature – they can adjust the temperature while on vacation or if they forget to while away from home. Others can only make changes when they are at home.
Automatic learning and adaptation
A regular thermostat will heat or cool your home exactly when and how you ask it to. So does a smart thermostat, unless you enable its smarter features. Smart thermostats include learning algorithms and sensors that study activity in the home, such as when people wake up in the morning and start moving around.
With basic data like this, smart thermostats can start making adjustments about when to turn up the heat or start cooling, and when to back off because no one’s home. Essentially, they can schedule themselves and respond to significant changes in habits.
Also, many new smart thermostats come with satellite sensors that you can place in certain rooms that traditional thermostats may not be able to “read” well, increasing the accuracy of temperature sensing.
Ecobee thermostat with its sensor.
Energy saving
Programmable thermostats will save you money, as long as you are Stay within strict temperature settings at certain times of the day and night. Smart thermostats don’t necessarily save more, but they do make saving money much easier and homes tend to save more as a result, since very few users have the time to constantly adjust a standard thermostat to maximize savings.
With settings like economy modes and monthly energy savings reports, smart thermostats tend to save the average household significant amounts of money. Google Nest studies have estimated the average user Saves about 15% on energy bills annuallyWhile Ecobee says users can save Up to 26% at maximum. This is enough to cover the initial costs of a smart thermostat within a year or two.
stabilizing
Smart and standard thermostats are installed the same way — by connecting different wires to the thermostat’s base plate. They both also offer professional installation services, so there’s not much difference here.
The biggest difference is that smart thermostats won’t work well with every home system. For example, smart thermostats won’t make much of a difference if you use radiant floor heating as your primary heat source (it responds more slowly and doesn’t affect heat sensors in the same way), so you might as well save money by using a simpler thermostat.
Heat sensors can go anywhere to monitor certain temperatures.
Connections to other devices
Smart thermostats can often connect to other smart home technologies, including… Security axes And custom triggers, through platforms like IFTTT or HomeKit controller. Because smart thermostats have additional humidity or air quality sensors, they can trigger things like Air purifiersfans, Dehumidifiers And more. Some smart thermostats come with built-in voice assistants, while most at least support voice assistant control through Alexa, Google Voice Assistant, and more.
Regular thermostats don’t have any of these connections, so you usually can’t connect them for household chores or adjust temperature triggers for other devices.
Many smart thermostats can work with voice assistants, too.
Bottom line
Smart thermostats make saving money much easier than regular thermostats, and come with plenty of extra bells and whistles, including opportunities to connect them to voice assistants and other smart home devices. They’re also sleek, smart devices that display personalized information about your home and the weather, while learning your habits and automatically adjusting heating or cooling – no careful management required. Plus, unlike regular thermostats, you can control it from anywhere.
In contrast, the big drawback to smart thermostats is that they cost much more than a regular thermostat replacement, although they tend to pay for themselves within a year or two. However, not everyone is comfortable using an app to schedule or allow a smart thermostat to make changes on its own, so some users may find themselves uncomfortable with this change.
Are you ready to learn more? Check out our guide on the best settings you can use on your smart thermostat for this season The easiest steps to save on heating and cooling billsAnd the best smart home devices in general.
