Intro
Hello! and welcome to my site. I understand that when choosing from the different range of thermostat models available, it might be hard to find an ideal model. With short reviews,comparison and selection guide, we hope to help you find a thermostat that is perfect for your home and your budget.
A digital non-programmable thermostat temperature reading and setting on these thermostats are far more accurate and give you the convenience of easy to read LCD display. The problem with these thermostats, however, is that one needs to remember to change them. For example if you prefer to turn off your heater or lower it during winter nights to save energy, you will have to remember to do it manually every night.
Today’s programmable thermostats offer a variety of options, from displaying the home’s humidity level to showing you how much energy your system is using. You can choose models that will interface with your computer, allowing you to control the thermostat remotely. These internet-connected devices can even text you when it’s time to change your system’s air filter.Some even seem to have a mind of their own. Equipped with PID controllers, they record and process data, learning how long it takes to adjust temperatures in your home, and then automatically adjusting settings until they can maintain your ideal temperature within half a degree.These are generally called the wifi or smart thermostats but are essentially programmable thermostats.
Smart home thermostats
The idea of linking a home’s appliances, electronics and devices like thermostats together into a system that could be controlled remotely with a touch of a finger has an appeal that’s hard to resist. It conjures up images from the futuristic movies and television shows of the 1950s, that hopeful era when it seemed like full-home automation was just around the corner. In the 1950s, however, the technology that would make that vision a reality was still decades away.
Connecting a device as simple as a thermostat to a home automation system didn’t become feasible until the late 1970s when home-automation technology based on a home’s existing power lines began to become widely available. Most people viewed those early systems as not worth the trouble that it took to get them up and running. Then came WiFi.
The Introduction of Wi-Fi in Our Homes
Wireless (Wi-Fi) networks use high frequency radio signals to send and receive data within a limited area. Wi-Fi technology is ideally suited for home automation systems, making it easy to transmit video, sound and data to any part of the home up to 100 feet away without having to fuss with electrical and telephone lines.
How Wi-Fi Thermostats Work
It’s not necessary to install a separate Wi-Fi network to make a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat operational. Any home that has a high-speed Internet connection is ready for Wi-Fi home automation. The device that handles communication between the Internet and a thermostat with Wi-Fi is called a “bridge,” a device that looks something like a miniature stereo speaker. The bridge plugs into an open port on the computer’s router.
Works With Your Computer, Cellphone Or Tablet Device
It’s this aspect of Wi-Fi thermostats that makes some so ideal for the home. The devices can be scheduled to turn off a heating or cooling system when the family is away from home and turn the system back on in time for the family to return to a comfortably heated or cooled environment.With a Wi-Fi enabled thermostat, users can either program the device using the controls on the thermostat or can use the software program’s interface to handle the programming. This allows for remote programming as well. If a family member decides to return home sooner than expected, for example, a few simple clicks of a mouse or taps on a cell phone is all that’s needed to adjust the home’s temperature quickly.
By allowing users to program their thermostats to adjust temperatures when they’re away from home, Wi-Fi programmable thermostats can cut up to 15 percent off of heating and cooling expenses. Multiple thermostats can be controlled by the same Wi-Fi system too. A broad range of other devices, including appliances, electronics, lights and security systems, can be incorporated into a single Wi-Fi home automation system, bringing the vision of fully automated home to life.
Best smart thermostat models
Ecobee smart Thermostat premium
Price $$$
Touch screen Yes
Heating stages 4
Cooling stages 2
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes(Using built-in motion sensors ,Remote Smart sensors or phone Gps and IFTT along with IFTT’s own or other location sharing App.
Smart Remote sensor Yes (Temperature and occpancy) 1 included. You can add upto 32.
Home automation integration Apple Homekit, Google Assistant, Alexa, SmartThings,Abode, IFTT
Power source C Wire( Power extender kit included for systems lacking C wire.)
Warranty 3 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) No(but Eco+ track your usage through your manual adjustment or Home/away time to suggest better schedule that you can implement.
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) Yes
Humidity Control Yes
Best feature/s and Remarks
Built in Alexa and air quality monitor.
Smart Remote sensor to remove hot cool spot. A affordable Ecobee smart thermostat enhanced does not have Alexa speaker, air quality monitor built in but it is also smart sensor compatible that you can buy separately.
Geofencing using IFTTT on mobile app.
Eco+ which is the energy saving feature of Ecobee has option to enable auto adjust temperature using home/ away, what it feels like based on humidity rather than actual temperature, pre heat cool before peak or lower usage hours of day or if enrolled in community energy saving program.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Ecobee Smart Thermostat
Nest 3rd generation thermostat
Price $$$
Touch screen Dial With TS
Heating stages 3
Cooling stages 2
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes(Using built-in occupancy sensor or Geofencing through phone app.)
Smart Remote sensor Yes upto 6(Temperature only). Upto 6. 18 if you have more than 1 thermostat.
Home automation integration Alexa, Google, SmartThings, Vivint, ADT,IFTTT
Power source With C wire or Chargeable backup Battery through system’s low voltage wires.
Warranty 2 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) Yes
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) Yes
Humidity Control Yes
Best feature/s and Remarks
Auto schedule based on routine.
Auto adjust using motion sensor.
Geofencing using Home/Away assist.
Learns how long it takes to heat or cool your home and starts and stop HVAC heating and cooling to reach right temperature at right time and also prevent overshooting from set point.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Nest Learning Thermostat
Honeywell Home T10 smart thermostat
Price $$$
Touch screen Yes
Heating stages 2
Cooling stages 2
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes(Using Geofencing through phone app, Cannot add based on motion sensor.)
Smart Remote sensor Yes(Temperature, Humidity and proximity) Upto 20.
Home automation integration Alexa, Google, HomeKit, SmartThings, Cortana, Ring,IFTTT
Power source C Wire required.(Power adapter cable included.)
Warranty 2 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) No
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) Yes
Humidity Control Yes
Best feature/s and Remarks
Proximity sensor is to adjust temperature control with temperature of rooms that it senses presence.
If you don’t want humidity control you can buy lower priced Honeywell T9 Smart thermostat.
Adaptive learning technology of heating and cooling times.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Honeywell Home T10 Smart Thermostat.
Amazon smart thermostat
Price $$
Touch screen Yes
Heating stages 3
Cooling stages 3
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes(Using geofencing through Alexa phone app.)
Smart Remote sensor No
Home automation integration Amazon Alexa only.
Power source C Wired(Power adapter costa extra)
Warranty 1 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) Yes
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) No
Humidity Control No
Best feature/s and Remarks
Cheapest wifi thermostat with learning capabilities home/away and your schedules input. It calls them hunches.
Supports only Amazon Alexa voice commands and control through routines.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Amazon Smart thermostat
Wyze Smart Thermostat
Price $$
Touch screen No,Dial type
Heating stages4 for heat pumps, 2 for conventional
Cooling stages 2
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes(Using geofencing Home/Away switch though phone app.)
Smart Remote sensor Yes(Temperature, humidity, Motion) Upto 6.
Home automation integration Alexa, Google, Bluetooth
Power source C wire (Comes with power adaptor cable.)
Warranty 1 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) No
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) No
Humidity Control Yes
Best feature/s and Remarks
Geo fencing Home/Away switch to Home mode if inbuilt motion sensor senses motion even if phone is out of geofencing radius)
Remote sensors to eliminate Hot cold spots.
Remote motion sensor to adjust temperature control based on temperature of room occupied.
Can be coupled with other wyze smart devices like Wyze Cam V3, Wyze Lock, Wyze Plug and Wyze Cam Floodlight. For ex it can turn HVAC system On when wyze camera detects motion.
Not compatible with Apple homekit,IFTT.
It does have AI learning capabilities based on your routines and gives energy saving tips but cannot auto schedule.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Wyze smart Thermostat
Sensi Touch 2 Smart thermostat
Price $$$
Touch screen Yes
Heating stages Single 1H/1C, Multi-Stage 2H/2C, Heat Pump 4H/2C
Cooling stages 2
7 day programmable Yes
Auto Home/Away feature Yes (Using phone app)
When 3 miles away from your home lower 3 degrees in heat mode or raise 3 degrees in cool mode.
Smart Remote sensor Yes (Temperature and humidity Sensor. Sold separately) Upto 15
Home automation integration Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings
Power source C required.Adapter Kit can be bought separately.
Warranty 3 Years
Learning Thermostat (Auto Schedule feature) No
In built motion sensor (Occupancy) No
Humidity Control Yes
Best feature/s and Remarks
If you don’t have C wire and don’t want to buy adapter you can buy Sensi smart thermostat that can work with batteries as it is not touch screen.
It is not learning thermostat but you can monitor the performance and efficiency by its energy usage reports.
Easy interface.
Click here for more detail, price review and ratings of Emerson Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat.
Runner up smart thermostats
Bosch Connected Control BCC100 Thermostat
Touch screen – Yes Largest Touch screen
Heating stages– 2H/2C with conventional and 4H/2C with heatpumps
Cooling stages– 2
Auto Home/Away feature– No Lacks this feature
Smart remote sensor-NO
Home automation integration– Works only with Alexa. Also it is not IFTT compatible.
Power source- C wire required. Does not comes with adapter.
Smart/Learning thermostat- Not a learning thermostat.
In built Motion sensor(Accupancy)– N0
Humidity Control– Yes. It can control one accesory. Humidifier or dehumidifier.
Click here for more detail, Price, reviews and ratings
Lux Kono smart Thermostat
Touch screen– No( Dial type)
Heating stages– 2H/1C with conventional and, as well as 2Ht/1 C with heatpumps
Cooling stages-1
Auto Home/Away feature– Yes using Geofencing App
Smart remote sensor– No
Home automation integration- Yes Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri voice commands. No IFTT.
Power source– C wire required but comes with adapter.
Smart/Learning thermostat– No but provide usage reports.
In built Motion sensor(Accupancy)- No
Humidity Control- No
Cllick here for more detail, price, reviews and ratings.
GLAS Smart Thermostat by Johnson Controls
Touch screen– Yes
Heating stages– 2H/2C with conventional ,2H/2C/2 heatpumps with Aux Heat
Cooling stages-2
Auto Home/Away feature– Yes using Geofencing App
Smart remote sensor– No
Home automation integration- Yes Alexa and Google Assistant. It is also has Microsoft Cortana voice assistant built in.
Power source– C wire required but comes with adapter.
Smart/Learning thermostat– No but you can see the statistics of the past days and the energy-saving ratio.
In built Motion sensor(Accupancy)- Yes. Works as Geofencing.
Humidity Control- No but GLAS uses its air quality sensors and outdoor temperature information and also humidity to operate your ventilator intelligently ensuring maximize air quality and minimum energy usage.
Click here for more detail, price, reviews and ratings
Honeywell Home RCHT8610WF T5 Smart Thermostat
Touch screen– Yes
Heating stages– 2H/2C with conventional ,3H/2C/2 heatpumps with Aux Heat
Cooling stages-2
Auto Home/Away feature– Yes using Geofencing App
Smart remote sensor– No
Home automation integration- Yes IFTTT, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa
Power source– C wire required. Adapter can be baught seperately.
Smart/Learning thermostat– No but you can get monthly energy usage reports.
In built Motion sensor(Accupancy)- No
Humidity Control- No.
Click here for more detail, price, reviews and ratings
Best smart thermostat for electric baseboard heating
Mysa smart thermostat
Touch screen– Yes
Compatible with-120/240V
Auto Home/Away feature– Yes using Geofencing App
Smart remote sensor– No
Home automation integration- Yes IFTTT, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, SmartThings, Amazon Alexa,
Smart/Learning thermostat– No but you can get monthly energy usage reports.
In built Motion sensor(Accupancy)- No
Click here for more detail, price, reviews and ratings
Also refer following guides-
How to Choose Your Wifi Thermostat
Compatibility
Be sure to check that the wireless thermostat you are considering is compatible with the make and model of heating and cooling system you already have in your place. For example-the nest,the biggest contender in smart wifi thermostats market is not compatible with all of the home system.
Room Sensors
There are two type of room sensors. Temperature and/or humidity sensors that can be used to wliminate hot ot cold spots in various rooms. And motion sensor that senses occupancy of the room or whole house and adjust the temperature similar to Geofencing. We have outlined both features of all the listed thermostats.
Battery Life
Battery life is a common issue with thermostat like nest. Firstly most wifi thermostat would not be able to run only with batteries because the battery will soon die out as it has to keep the radio signal on. So most wifi thermostats get its power from C wire and batteries are most of the time included for date and time update in case of power outage.
Humidity control
Not all thermostat comes with humidity control we have a separate list of smart thermostat that comes with humidity control. We have also outlines which of the above thermostat have built in humidity control, with Humidifier or Dehumidifer or AC.
Smart control features
Needless to say a thermostat with wifi comes with the setting to of 7 four times a day programming. But only extra feature you should look for is weather it is really a smart thermostat or just a wireless thermostat. By that i mean that a smart thermostat will have an auto schedule feature which will automatically set your future temperature setting by learning from your past temperature and the time of adjustments ,the current or future outdoor weather conditions like temperature and humidity level to adjust its controls.It can also auto adjust by learning weather you are at home or about to reach home(Geo-fencing).Some thermostat like ecobee comes with remote sensors that can monitor and control temperature at desired room in your house.Thermostats like hone well that say it is smart don’t have the auto schedule feature but offers smart response technology that heat and cool before time by taking into account the amount of time it takes to heat or cool the system.Others models like nest have motion sensor for auto away feature that auto detects that you are in your home and starts to heat up,while when you are away it helps in energy saving.This is a different from Geo-fencing which uses your cell phone location.
Geo fencing
If you are going for wifi, Geo-fencing is something you can consider as by it you are basically adding to the wifi feature of your thermostat.Since you will be using you phone(Pc app as well) most of the time to control your home temperature,you can do so automatically by automatically sending your location through phone to your thermostat and by adjusting the range from your house in which if you enter or leave the thermostat automatically set the desired temperature of your settings.This can work for both if you routinely go out for work or otherwise require to go out anyway.But this feature is not always reliable,so do look more into this feature of your particular company models before making a choice.
Security
Since the thermostat is wireless, it is possible that it could conflict with a neighbor’s heating or cooling system if they,too, use a wireless thermostat system. This is why most wireless thermostats come with a house code that matches it specifically to your home or business.To protect temperature settings, some wireless thermostats come with a password protect option so settings stay where you set them and cannot be changed without your permission.
Unique features
Lastly various companies add some unique capabilities of their own in their new line of models in order to compete. Some of which include unique energy saving and usage data and trend, latest Voice control like in Honeywell smart thermostat. Some wireless thermostats come with a large display screen that makes it easy to read and operate. Others come with a back-lit display for easy reading in the dark. Certain brands even carry display screens that have high resolution and look very professional. Others with special features such as screen savers night-hour dimming, holiday and nature themes, alerts, and the choice between either a digital or an analog clock.