What's The Best Smart Thermostat For You In 2020!
Choosing the right thermostat is not always as easy as it seems. While they are all likely to work with your HVAC systems (outside of high/line voltage systems) there are some features that you may want but don’t come with the unit. For instance, the Nest Learning thermostat has been the benchmark for smart wifi thermostats for years but has been dethroned in many cases by the EcoBee line of thermostats. One of these reasons was the ability to monitor temperatures in multiple rooms via room sensors wirelessly connected to the thermostat. Use sensors like this helps the thermostat record a more accurate temperatures profile of your home for better automated adjustment. The other feature many wanted but never got due to the relationship with Nest and Apple is Apple Homekit. The Nest line of Thermostats do NOT feature Apple Homekit support. Support for Homekit is a deal breaker for many people and that pushed lots of users to other thermostats like Ecobee. Fast forward to to March 2018 and Nest added a room sensor option for the Nest Thermostats. As of this posting Ecobee’s Smart Thermostat offers more integration options, built-in Amazon Alexa support, comes with room sensors and offers most of the same features as the Nest 3rd Generation thermostat (aside from each others proprietary technologies). With that said the Nest Thermostat is still top dog for many people. With it’s award-winning design, excellent user experience, vast ecosystem with integration with their entire line of Google Nest products and easy of installation it is this a top candidate for purchasing a new Wi-Fi thermostat.
Now both companies offer a more affordable thermostat option with their Nest E and Ecobee Lite offerings that offer virtually the same features as the flagships in a more affordable package. Looking at our chart below you can see some of the same features and some features that were left out due to not being essential for most users. One thing to keep in mind is the Ecobee thermostat only works on a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band while the Nest E is dual-band. Both remove the feature of working with HVAC accessories like humidifiers and dehumidifiers and the EcoBee Lite works with Apple Home Kit while the Nest E does not. At the time of this posting the Nest E is priced lower than the EcoBee Lite so if Apple Homekit is not a necessity for you the Nest E may be the better option.
Now let’s talk about the Honeywell T5+. We all know the current big boys in this space are Nest and Ecobee but Honeywell, a company that’s been around for more than 100 years is the OG of the bunch. Honeywell has been producing thermostats for generations and wanted to throw their entry in the ring in terms of design and user experience and they have created a great alternative to the current champs. While not as feature-rich as the other two top contenders it hold its own, especially coming from a company with such a rich history in this space.
No matter which thermostat you choose you should have a great experience and find most feature valuable to your daily life.
Our Recommendations :
EcoBee Smart Thermostat with Smart Sensor
For any questions about wifi thermostats, installation, integration or setup feel free to CONTACT US any time.
Take a look at our handy chart below for more detail on determining which thermostat suits your needs.
