For many people, a smart thermostat is the best way to get started with home automation. A smart thermostat makes it easy to control the temperature of your home, plus it can save you money with “smart” features. Smart thermostats are also great as “hubs” for a variety of other smart apps and devices. Take your first step into a larger world with these great thermostats.
Overview
| Nest | Ecobee3 | Ecobee3 Lite | Honeywell Lyric | Sensi Smart |
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| Price: $240 Buy it |
Price: $260 Buy It |
Price: $200 Buy it |
Price: $199 Buy it |
Price: $129 Buy it |
Nest 3rd Gen
The Nest Learning Thermostat is the device that kicked off the smart thermostat trend. It gets its name from the ability to learn your habits and automatically adjust the temperature to fit your needs. One big benefit of the Nest is that it works with a wide variety of apps and smart devices. It can be the hub of your smart home.
Ecobee3
The Ecobee3 is very similar to the Nest. It can learn about your habits and detect when people are home. The thing that sets the Ecobee3 apart is the sensors that can be placed throughout your home. This allows the thermostat to know the temperature in more than just one room. The Ecobee3 works with a wide variety of apps and devices as well.
Ecobee3 Lite
The Ecobee3 Lite is the exactly the same as the regular Ecobee3, but it doesn’t have the sensors. If you don’t have a large home or you don’t care about having sensors in other rooms, this is the model you want. It’s $30 cheaper and works with the same apps and devices.
Honeywell Lyric
Honeywell was the big name in thermostats until Nest came around. They were slow to jump on the smart device train, but now they have the Honeywell Lyric. It looks a lot like the Nest, but not quite as elegant. One cool feature is the “feels like” temperature, which takes humidity into consideration. The Lyric also works with many apps and devices.
Sensi Smart Thermostat
If you’re not ready to drop $200 on a thermostat, but still want some smart features, the Sensi Smart Thermostat is a nice middle ground. You can get it for only $102, but it still connects to WiFi and works with Amazon Alexa. You can control it from anywhere with the mobile app and set up a 7-day schedule to reduce wasteful heating and cooling.
