Smart thermostats are great for so many reasons; they add convenience, comfort, and energy efficiency to any home. If you’ve considered adding one to your household, you may have discovered there are a lot of options available. How do you choose the right one? We’ve compiled a list of four of our favorite thermostats that we personally install in our clients’ homes. They have amazing functionality, look attractive, and offer all the features you’d hope to see in a smart thermostat.
Lennox iComfort E30
The E30 is our top choice for smart thermostats. It’s innovatively designed, offers great features, and makes it easy to save money on energy bills without having to sacrifice your comfort. The E30 has a “Feels Like” setting, which takes the temperature and humidity into account, allowing you to have your home feel exactly how you like it. It’s a great option for those with asthma or seasonal allergies; it has the ability to monitor the air quality and allergens in your zip code and will turn on the system’s fan to keep your home’s air clean. If you have a whole-home humidifier, the E30 can be set-up to work with it to keep your home’s air moisture level optimal. You can control your home’s temperature from anywhere with a smartphone; it’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo, or Echo Dot
In terms of energy efficiency, the E30 offers a number of innovative features. It features a Smart Away mode that works with your smartphone’s location to adjust your home’s temperature based on whether or not you’re at home, and Schedule IQ technology that adjusts temperature settings to match changes in your routine. A convenient One-Touch away mode allows you to override your regular programming schedule with a single touch, setting back your heating and cooling set points to help you save energy; it’s Smooth Setback Recovery setting allows you to automatically adjust your heating and cooling start time to keep your house at the exact temperature you like. Additionally, the E30 provides handy performance reports that show you the history of your system’s operation and performance.
Honeywell Lyric T6
The Lyric is a great economical option for those who like the fancy features of more expensive thermostats but want to save on costs. While it’s a fraction of the price of others, it offers many of the same features – and it works with everything. The Lyric offers complete connectivity with your mobile device, allowing you to control it from anywhere; multiple smartphones can be linked, giving your whole family the ability for remote temperature control.
With 7-day flexible scheduling, you can program it to work with your schedule throughout the week; if your schedule changes, it’s easy to adjust the setting remotely using the app. The Lyric also features geofencing capabilities and smart alerts that let you know when you need your filter changed. It can be integrated with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, and Apple HomeKit. It also comes in a Z-Wave version for control and automation of other smart devices within your home.
Emerson Sensi Touch
The Sensi Touch is a little simpler than the previous thermostats, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! It allows you to easily control your home temperature from anywhere using wifi, and it works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKits. It also offers convenient geofencing. Named the “Best Overall” smart thermometer of 2018, it has an attractive HD color touchscreen display with backlighting that makes it easy to use in low light. You can set up smart alerts to let you know when extreme temperature is on the way, or when humidity changes are detected, and it conveniently receives automatic software updates, so you’ll always have access to the latest features as they’re released. The Sensi also sends you usage reports, allowing you to monitor your heating and cooling run times, as well as receive energy saving tips, product news and more.
Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest Learning Thermostat is aptly named; this thermostat learns and adapts to your schedule – in only one week! The Nest makes it easy to save energy based on your lifestyle and needs. Nest also has voice control capability with Alexa and Google Assistant and can be set up to track your smartphone location, adjusting the temperature of your home to fit your schedule. An independent study showed The Nest was able to save people an average of 10% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills, effectively paying for itself in under two years. Our company has experienced a high failure rate with these thermostats however, the Lennox or Honeywell is the best option. They work with everything and the Honeywell even has a Z-Wave version.
Now that you know about our favorite smart thermostats, the only question is, which one is right for you? If you’re interested in installing a new smart thermostat or would like to discuss which one would fit your needs best, give us a call! We’re happy to go over the different features in more detail and find the perfect thermostat for you.
