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Best Smart Thermostat: Reviews and Buying Advice

Smart thermostat

Learn what to look for to control the ambient temperature of your home or office

As environmental consciousness grows more prevalent, people are developing new ways to conserve energy and practice sustainable living. One way to lessen your environmental impact is to install a smart thermostat. Like a regular thermostat, a smart model connects to your home's heating and cooling systems to monitor your resource consumption and adjusts the temperature to save energy. However, a smart thermostat provides much more control than regular models. Read this guide to learn what a smart thermostat can do and what you should consider when looking for one.

More control

With a smart thermostat connected to your home or office Wi-Fi network, you can access your temperature settings more easily. This allows you to adjust the temperature from anywhere in your home or when you're away from home using your smartphone or similar device. If you have a smart speakers installed in your home, you can adjust the heating and cooling systems through the use of voice commands. Some models come with built-in voice recognition, independent of your smart home system.

With more control, you can also automate the temperature settings or set them on a timer. This ensures your heating and cooling systems enter the energy-saving mode whenever you don't need them, such as when you're asleep or away from home. Many smart thermostats gather data the more that you use them. This allows you access to more information regarding your energy use, making you equipped to manage your home's temperature more efficiently and reduce your impact on the environment.

A smarter home

Many smart thermostat devices can record your daily adjustments and movement patterns to dial in on your preferred settings. This intuitive action based on feedback is a big part of what makes them smart home devices. A smart thermostat learns what temperature range you prefer and keeps it within that range when you are active in the home. Using your phone's location tracking, some devices can tell when you are on your way home and brings the ambient temperature to your liking by the time you arrive. This allows the thermostat system to maintain your home's heating and cooling in a low energy state when you're not around, further reducing your energy consumption.

When you're home, the thermostat will adjust your heating and cooling systems to accommodate various factors, such as cooking or more occupants, to ensure your home stays within the desired temperature range. Also, many smart thermostat devices can connect to the cloud and receive software updates as necessary. Allowing your device to receive software updates automatically ensures it always uses the latest information and algorithms to track your lifestyle and save energy.

What to look for when buying a smart thermostat

The most important step is to make sure the smart thermostat device you plan to buy is compatible with your smart home setup. Research whether the device can connect to your Wi-Fi network and heating and cooling systems before purchase. You should also consider whether you want a thermostat that can connect to your mobile device or comes with a designated remote control. A thermostat system with its own remote generally works more reliably. However, you might want the control option and flexibility you would get from connecting to your personal device. Get a good feel for the Wi-Fi capabilities of your smart thermostat as you may need to place it close to your router to ensure a stable connection. Finally, before committing to a smart thermostat system, first consider your home's utility rates. Compare this information with the benefits of expanded temperature control to make the best investment for your situation and conserve energy as efficiently as possible.

What people say about smart thermostats

People who have bought smart thermostats enjoy the greater control and flexibility they bring to the home. Voice recognition and selective temperature control allow users to heat or cool specific rooms from anywhere in the home. Customers also report that smart thermostats have produced remarkable results in helping them reduce their energy consumption. The greater range of data now available to them has even allowed some users to identify and correct wasteful inaccuracies in their traditional heating and cooling systems.

The chief criticism that users report is difficulty with integrating various smart home or voice recognition systems with the smart thermostat they choose. Situations can arise that require access to certain features through one system, while other features go through a different one. Sometimes, it can also be difficult to allow the thermostat to share the temperature data it collects with other home devices. Additionally, most users report that the primary function of the thermostat works well, but they occasionally have trouble with the extra features and sometimes customer support can be patchy depending on the region and internet service provider.

In summary, you should have a good grasp of what is a smart thermostat and how it can help you lower your power consumption and monthly bills before you decide on a specific model. With the knowledge you have gained here about smart thermostats that you can add to your home or office, you’re better prepared to take the next step toward lowering your carbon footprint while making life more convenient for you and your loved ones.