Why you need a smart home thermostat (and which one to buy)

With so much technology around us, it's easy to gloss over the tech in our daily life. There's a smart gadget for everything now. It's fun and exciting to focus on the latest smartphone or virtual reality device. But there's one piece of new tech that can make our lives more comfortable, day and night: a smart thermostat.

Microsoft GLAS Cortana Thermostat with a Touchscreen Glass Display

How often do you think about your thermostat? Well, that depends. Have you moved into a new home and need to replace one? Are you feeling hot or cold? Chances are, you’re thinking about it a lot in that moment. If you’re comfortable, you’re likely not thinking about it at all. And with the right smart home thermostat, you won’t have to think about it at all.

Before programmable thermostats and smart thermostats, there were manual thermostats. Which meant constantly changing the temperature before you left for work, went to bed, or weren’t at home to conserve energy on your electric bill. Manual thermostats were great when they were first invented in the early 1900s because for the first time ever, you could actually set the temperature in your house.

In the 1970s, programmable thermostats were introduced. At the time, they were the end-all, be-all. Unfortunately, they weren’t the solution to energy savings. Energy companies monitored homes with them and saw consumption rise in some cases, rather than fall. The problem? Humans.

In 2007, smart home thermostats were introduced. Enter Nest. The creator of Nest took the human element out of thermostats to truly save energy and reduce error. Smart thermostats use sensors that can tell if the home is occupied and can pause heating or cooling until people are home. They also use Wi-Fi, enabling users to access their thermostat at any time, from anywhere. Now, there are a ton of options to choose from, and the decision fatigue can be real.

The fact remains, you need a smart home thermostat. Instead of Google search after Google search, let us do the work for you. Take a look at our choices below.

ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control Intelligent Thermostat

If you’re looking for a next-level thermostat, your search just ended. We bring you the ecobee SmartThermostat. Sure, it controls the temperature in your home with the app. But it’s also armed with Alexa. With its state-of-the-art SmartSensor, ecobee is able to deliver the right temperature in the right rooms, since it detects occupancy. You’ll also save up to 23% annually on your heating and cooling costs. If that alone isn’t a reason to head out right now and buy this thermostat, we don’t know what is.

Nest Thermostat E Smart Thermostat

Nest is the first brand of smart home thermostats, so if you’re looking for an original, your search is over. With Nest, you know you’ll get a familiar name along with high quality. The E Smart Thermostat is an upgrade on the original design and comes ready to go straight from the box. All you have to do is plug it in, connect to your Wi-Fi, and you’re good to go thanks to a standard pre-set schedule that works for most people. How’s that for easy to use?  Once you use the thermostat more and manually adjust it, it will learn about your habits to develop a program just for you.

Honeywell Wi-Fi 9000 7-Day Programmable Thermostat

Choosing the right tech for your home that matches and is easy to use is difficult. Honeywell has a solution to your woes with the Wi-Fi 9000 7-Day Programmable Thermostat. The colorful HD screen will look good in any home, and the touchscreen and simple programming make it easy to set up. The home screen displays the indoor temp, the outdoor temp, and the humidity, so you have all the numbers you need to know at a glance. And by using your Wi-Fi connection, you can control it from anywhere in your house on your smartphone—or from anywhere else.

Hive Heating and Cooling Smart Thermostat Pack

The Hive Heating and Cooling Smart Thermostat Pack is another great easy-to-use model. With this system, you’ll be able to heat or cool your living space and save energy. The pack includes the Hive Active Thermostat and Hive Hub. The Active Thermostat regulates your home, and the Hive Hub lets you control the thermostat from your smartphone. It’s also compatible with Alexa, so you can always just tell it what to do.

Momentum Meri Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat

You’ll always have remote access to your thermostat with the Momentum Meri Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat. Forgot to change the settings before you left town for the weekend? No worries. Just get on the app and make adjustments. You can even set a range of temperatures for it to follow, allowing for even more energy savings with that flexibility. The high-resolution screen makes it easy to read, and the humidity detector lets you know if it’s too dry or too moist.

Lyric Round Second Generation Wi-Fi Thermostat

Honeywell is one of the hitmakers of thermostats, and they’ve got your back again with the Lyric Round. This Second Generation Wi-Fi Thermostat will take full control of heating your home. And we all love one less thing to worry about. Lyric Round will connect to your in-home heating system via Wi-Fi and will maintain the perfect temperature throughout the day. What could be easier? And even cooler, it can sense when you’re on your way home, thanks to geofencing technology. If your house it too hot or too cold based on environmental factors, all you have to do is scroll the wheel to set the temp you want.

Microsoft GLAS Cortana Smart Thermostat

Smart homes are one of the latest trends. Some people want everything around them fully automated and voice-activated, down to their lighting. If you’re one of them, the Microsoft GLAS Cortana Smart Thermostat is what you need to complete your smart home makeover. This smart home thermostat runs on Cortana, so you can control the temperature in your house just by using your voice. As with a few others on our list, this thermostat also learns your routines so it can always have the thermostat set just where you need it. An added feature is the way this piece will look in your home. The GLAS Cortana Smart Thermostat is a translucent touch screen, so it will look sleek and futuristic in any room.

Cor 7-Day Programmable Wi-Fi Thermostat

Not only does the Cor 7-Day Programmable Wi-Fi Thermostat control your heating and cooling to save you money, it also manages the humidity in your home. You’ll be able to set different temperatures for the week depending on your schedule, and the Touch-N-Go feature allows you to easily change any of the settings. It also has a smart setback feature that will help you conserve even more energy and become more efficient. Cor takes it a step further than most by providing you with detail energy reports and will give you customized energy-saving tips. It even has a vacation hold, and that’s pretty awesome.

Wiser Air Smart Thermostat by Schneider Electric

You can take complete control of the heating and cooling in your home with the Wiser Air Smart Thermostat. It’s easy to install, connects to your Wi-Fi network, and has an intuitive interface. This smart home thermostat even comes with Comfort Boost technology to adjust settings immediately to make you more comfortable yet still remain efficient. The pulse of color on the display shows you how your home is running. Best of all? You can run your Wiser Air thermostat from anywhere using the app.

We’re feeling pretty darn warm toward all of these smart home thermostats. A thermostat can do so much more than what they used to be able to do. While their primary use is to control the temperature, their secondary and tertiary uses are pretty important too. Are you ready to start saving money on your heating bill with a smart home thermostat?

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