Smart thermostats are here to stay and why they wouldn’t when they can do more than just manage the heating and cooling system of your house for you? As much as they make our lives easier and provide the convenience we didn’t know we needed, there is no invention that comes without a few downsides to it.
What all smart thermostats entail are a couple of common features, like remote and wireless control through their mobile applications, and the devices themselves connect to the home Wi-Fi network. This enables you to control your thermostats whether you’re cozied up in bed, driving back from work, or even in another state altogether.
Their mobile apps bring with them a plethora of features, and more if you subscribe to their services for a monthly fee too. Scheduling timing and functioning for smart thermostats to follow on a daily or for your entire workweek is another common feature they all hold.
Let us quickly take you through the pros and cons of some the top smart thermostats.
Google Nest Learning Thermostat
Let’s start off with the most popular of them all; the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, which is making waves and rightly so. Not only does it reduce your heating and cooling energy bills with time, it also quickly catches up on your preferences and automatically changes the temperature as per your needs – quite literally learns your preferred temperatures to put it in simpler words. Needless to say that it is perfect for people who constantly feel the need to switch between heating and air conditioning.
Even with all the benefits, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat has its drawbacks. Although it learns your preferences, it takes it time to do so and even when it does, the temperature is not always too accurate. The device also comes with a very high price tag because of which, many prefer buying it in installments or other alternatives in its place.
Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat (with Sensor)
Since the Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat that comes with its own Smart Sensor has a bright and easy-to-read touchscreen, it is especially popular among the older lot. It has quite a wide variety of smart home platform compatibility and supports voice assistance as well.
Although the sensor uses AAA batteries and can detect humidity, it does not come with a wall plate for installation. Unlike, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, you cannot set home and away status based on sensors on a Honeywell home T9 smart thermostat.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat
Known widely as the best smart thermostat, Ecobee’s remote sensor has a much better range and it comes with much more advanced features and functions. But the greatest benefit of buying an Ecobee Smart Thermostat has to be the fact that it efficiently saves energy and features the Amazon Alexa built-in, which allows for voice-enabled control.
Despite all these features, one major struggle associated with this particular thermostat is that Ecobee’s web portal can get unresponsive and its geofencing is limited to only one person. So any temperature adjustments would depend on that person’s smartphone location unless the settings are set otherwise.
Sensibo Sky
As its description goes, Sensibo Sky is ‘an inexpensive way to make your window AC units smart.’ So if you are living in an older home with no central heating and cooling system, this is exactly what you need, since it is ideal for an in-wall or window air conditioner. Not only does it work with Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT, it is also quite easy to install as well.
However, the only major drawback of Sensible Sky is the fact that it does not work offline and has no display or screen for showing the temperature.
Even with all the pros and cons of some of the top smart thermostats, one cannot deny how easy this particular device has made our lives. Convenience, energy-saving and even cutting down on the utility bills – how great is that? So it is high time to bid farewell to the old thermostats in your homes and say hello to a smart thermostat that is going to be especially useful during this upcoming winter season.
To check out some great deals on smart thermostats and smart sensors for individual control of the temperature in different rooms of the household, head on over to FirstEnergy’s website www.firstenergyhome.com and get a smart thermostat for your home today!
