The Nest Thermostat was the big winner in a Lifehacker reader’s poll on the best smart thermostat.
Lifehacker recently put a call out to their readers to share their experiences using smart thermostats, and asked them to rank and review their favorites. Which ones prevail and which ones fail? Let’s find out:
The clear winner for Lifehacker readers is the Nest Thermostat.
Sure, there are other smart thermostats, and have been others before the Nest, but the Nest made a thermostat both attractive, easy to use, internet connected, and powerful enough to save you money. More than a few of you shared your own experiences with the Nest, both positive and negative, with some of you saying yours has already paid for itself, and others saying you wish it had more options or features. Some of you use it in conjunction with other smart home peripherals, praised the simple UI, and shared stories of how much energy you’ve saved.
Nest users who reviewed the thermostat cited different levels of ease of installation – and you can buy a Nest on Amazon for $250. But beware! We often get calls from homeowners who have installed their own Nest only to have trouble with it later, and once you pay for shipping, for about $100 more dollars you can have True North install your Nest and ensure that you get the peace of mind that comes with contractor-backed installation; especially if you have a vacation planned in the near future!
The four runners up include selections for the data-obsessed:
The Ecobee 3 Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat
The Ecobee3 promises to lower your energy bill by making smart temperature adjustments for you, and even has a dashboard you can view at any time to see how it’s adjusting the temperature for you, average temperature, and how much you’ve likely saved. If you’re a serious data nerd and really want to get into the nitty gritty of programming different zones, temperatures, times, and so on, Ecobee3 is a great option.
A selection for the not-so data-obsessed:
The Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat
You noted that they aren’t necessarily learning thermostats in the way the Nest or Ecobee are, but they do offer you ease of use and setup, a highly customizable schedule and automatic temperature changes by the hour, and tons of additional features even though they’re technically cheaper. Some of you pointed out that while these are great, subsequent products have made Honeywell all but abandon updates for it, but they still work well.
A selection for the budget-conscious:
The Sensi Wi-Fi Smart Programmable Thermostat
Those of you who nominated the Sensi pointed out that the mobile app support is great, and while this thermostat doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles that other, pricier models have, it’s still just as good at saving you money if you program it properly, and the fact that you can control it remotely is a big enough benefit compared to the money you save on the purchase price that it’s worth considering. You also praised its familiar design, and noted that it’s exceptionally easy for anyone to install and use, even the non-tech-savvy.
And a selection for those using home-automation software:
The Honeywell Z-Wave Enabled Programmable Thermostat
Those of you who nominated it praised it for support Z-Wave’s smart home and automation platform, and noted that you had other Z-Wave compatible devices, so it was a smart investment overall. One of you said you put one in and didn’t change your comfort levels, but immediately started saving money, which is always a great thing to hear. Plus, not being tied to a specific system or platform makes them compatible with tons of different apps, services, and platforms.
You can read the entire article, user reviews and vote for your favorite over at Lifehacker. Ready to set your home up with smart controls? Get started today by calling True North Energy Services at 207-221-5677 or emailing us at [email protected], and we can discuss with you which smart thermostat is right for your home.
