Spending money on smart home gadgets can save you money in the long run. Using a smart plug to turn off the power to devices like your TV rather than leaving them on standby can help to reduce your energy bills. However, one of the most effective ways to save money using smart tech is to invest in a smart thermostat.
These clever devices can save you significant amounts on your heating and cooling costs by ensuring that you’re only heating or cooling your home when you’re actually in it. Some can even learn your schedule and adjust the heating or cooling to match. It’s also incredibly satisfying turn up the heat just by asking your voice assistant.
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There are plenty of smart thermostats to choose from, with a wide variety of prices to match. Choosing the best option for your needs can be a challenge, but to help you make your decision, here’s our rundown of the best smart thermostats in 2024.
Best smart theromstats: Our top picks
Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium
1. Best smart thermostat overall
A smart thermostat that measures and monitors
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium doesn’t just keep your home at the perfect temperature, it also monitors your indoor air quality too. You can control the thermostat with your voice using Siri or Alexa, and the included smart sensor detects occupancy so that you’re never heating an empty home.
- Voice control with Siri or Alexa
- Monitors air quality as well as temperature
- Includes smart sensor for presence detection
First and foremost, this top-of-the-range Ecobee smart thermostat can save you money. The company estimates that you can save as much as 26% of your energy bills by using the device. There’s presence detection built-in, to ensure you only heat your home when you’re in it, and the included smart sensor can monitor temperature and occupancy in a different room.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium isn’t just a smart thermostat, however. It’s an air quality monitor, home security device, and smart speaker too. With Alexa or Siri built-in, you can control the temperature with your voice without the need for a separate smart speaker, and even use other smart speaker functions such as playing music or asking about the weather. Additionally, this thermostat monitors your air quality, and sends you an alert if it detects motion or smoke alarm activity when you’re not home.
Amazon Smart Thermostat
2. Best smart thermostat for Alexa
Amazon’s smart thermostat works perfectly with your Echo devices.
Amazon’s smart thermostat is simple but effective. There’s no built-in microphone; everything is done either through the Alexa app or using your voice via an Amazon Echo device. You can control the temperature by voice and even tell Alexa you’re leaving so that you don’t heat an empty home.
- Works seamlessly with Alexa
- Excellent value
- Easy to set up in the Alexa app
- Requires separate Echo device for voice control
Amazon’s own smart thermostat has been designed using tech from the well-known Honeywell brand, so despite the low price, you can be certain of the quality. It has a simple design, but where it really shines is when you combine it with Alexa.
Using the Alexa app, you can set up heating schedules and monitor your energy usage. With an Echo smart speaker such as an Echo Dot or Echo Show, you can also control your heating with your voice. When you leave the house, just tell Alexa you’re leaving, and the heating will automatically be turned off until you return.
Google Nest Learning Thermostat
3. Best Google Nest smart thermostat
The elder, wiser statesman of smart thermostats
The Nest Learning Thermostat may be one of the oldest products on this list, but it’s still one of the best options out there. It learns your habits to provide the temperatures you like at the times you like them, ensuring that you never use more energy than you need to. It also looks great in your home.
- Stylish design
- Learns your habits
- Voice control with Google Assistant or Alexa
- Room sensors are an additional purchase
You may think that this smart thermostat from Google Nest looks familiar and has been around for a while, and that’s because it has. Despite this model having been around for many years now, it’s still one of the very best smart thermostats on the market.
The key to its success is the clever technology that learns your habits over time and adjusts your heating schedule accordingly. If you’re always out of the house for an hour on a Sunday afternoon, your thermostat will learn this, and make sure that the heating stays off when you’re out, but is back on in time for your return. And if you decide to stay home one Sunday, just ask Google Assistant or Alexa to turn the heating up.
Wyze Programmable Smart WiFi Thermostat
4. Best value smart thermostat
Feature-rich and budget-friendly
An inexpensive smart thermostat that doesn’t have the bells and whistles of some competitors but can still do the job. You can control the temperature using the dial, via the app, or using your voice with Google Assistant or Alexa.
- Great value
- Voice control with Alexa or Google Assistant
- Works with most systems
- Can’t control via app if you lose internet connection
Some smart thermostats come at a fairly steep price, and whilst they can save you money, it may take some time to recoup the initial costs. The good news is that there are some great low-cost smart thermostats out there, too.
This Wyze smart thermostat has a simple dial for manually adjusting the temperature, but you get more granular control when using the companion app. You can create schedules and get actionable feedback about your energy usage. You can also control the thermostat with your voice using Google Assistant or Alexa.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat with Voice Control
5. Best smart thermostat for voice control
A smart thermostat with Alexa and Siri built in.
This Ecobee smart thermostat takes voice control one step further by having Alexa built in so there’s no need for a separate Alexa device. You can also use Siri directly through the thermostat, although you’ll need a HomePod mini in order for Siri to be able to control your heating.
- Built-in voice control with Siri and Alexa
- Homekit compatible
- Includes smart sensor
- Siri voice control requires a HomePod mini
Voice control is ideal for smart thermostats. Asking Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant to turn up the heating really does feel like you’re living in the future. However, for most of the options on this list, you’ll most likely want to use a separate device, such as a smart speaker, to give your voice commands. The Ecobee Smart Thermostat with Voice Control has built-in microphones, allowing you to talk directly to your thermostat. You can ask Alexa to turn up the heating, but also use it for other purposes, such as getting Alexa to play some music on Spotify, for example.
You can also use Siri by speaking directly to the thermostat, too. However, you’ll need an additional HomePod mini to take advantage of this, since it’s the HomePod that will issue the commands to control your heating system. The HomeKit compatibility also allows you to control your home heating through the Apple Home app, and you can even change the temperature and other settings from your Apple Watch. The thermostat will work with Google Assistant too.
Google Nest Thermostat
6. Best value Nest smart thermostat
Equipped with Google Nest’s signature style and ease
$111 $130 Save $19
Google’s Nest Thermostat brings affordable, practical sensibility to smart home climate control with the ability to program your temperature by voice command or in the Google Home app.
- Stylish design
- Reasonable price
- Works with Google Assistant and Alexa
- Doesn’t learn your routine
If you love the stylish design and simple interface of the Google Nest Learning Thermostat but are looking for something more affordable, the Google Nest Thermostat can do the job. You still get manual controls, as well as remote control through the app or voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Alexa. You don’t get the smarts that can learn your habits, however.
How to install a Google Nest Thermostat
The Nest Thermostat offers a smart and convenient way to regulate your home’s temperature, and this guide makes the setup just as simple.
The circular design is instantly recognizable as a Google Nest thermostat, but instead of rotating the bezel, you use touch control on the side of the device to swipe up or down to your desired temperature. It can take a little getting used to, but soon becomes second nature.
Honeywell Home T5 Gen 2
7. Best smart thermostat for Ring control
A low-cost smart thermostat that can be controlled from the Ring app.
Honeywell offers a range of smart thermostats. The T5 is a low-cost option that has a simple touchscreen for manual adjustment, and support for voice control via Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. You can also control it directly from the Ring app if you have other Ring products.
- Good price
- Can be controlled from the Ring app
- Homekit support
- Homekit integration can be fiddly
A major issue with smart home gadgets is that each comes with its own apps and control systems. You might end up with twenty different apps to control all your various devices. Smart home hubs can help, but even then, some products may not be compatible with your hub of choice.
The Honeywell T5 Smart Thermostat and its bigger brother, the Honeywell T9, are products that are part of the Works with Ring system that allows you to control compatible smart home devices directly from within the Ring app. This means you have one less smart home app to worry about if you already have Ring products such as Ring video doorbells.
If you don’t have the Ring app, you can still control the Honeywell T5 using the touch screen, or with voice commands using Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant.
Emerson Sensi ST55
8. Best smart thermostat for privacy
A smart thermostat with old-school physical buttons
$115 $130 Save $15
If touch screens aren’t your thing this is as close to an old-school thermostat as a smart thermostat can get. You can use the physical buttons to control your heating, but also use the app to set schedules. There’s also voice control with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.
- Physical buttons
- Designed to replace old-style thermostats
- Strong privacy focus
- Not the best-looking thermostat
One problem with installing a stylish and modern smart thermostat is that it’s often replacing an old-style thermostat that’s just a big white box. You then have to touch up the paintwork that’s exposed by your new smart thermostat. The Emerson Sensi ST55 solves the problem by having the same footprint as most old-style thermostats, so there’s no additional work needed once you’ve installed it. It’s also got physical buttons if you’re not a fan of touchscreen controls.
Another major selling point is that the company is focused on respecting your privacy. It doesn’t go as far as naming names, but it’s clear that the company is keen to differentiate itself from the makers of certain popular smart thermostat models that have a less-than-stellar reputation for using your data for their profits.
Best smart thermostats: The bottom line
If you’re looking for a smart thermostat that can do pretty much anything you could ever want, then it’s hard to look beyond the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium. It can control your heating, monitor your air quality, tell you the weather, alert you if your smoke alarm goes off when you’re away from home, let you know if motion is detected in your home when you’re away, and ultimately save you a lot of money on your energy bills. If you’re looking for a low-cost alternative, the Wyze Programmable Smart WiFi Thermostat gives you a lot of bang for your buck.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium
Editor’s Choice
A smart thermostat that measures and monitors
How I chose the best smart thermostats
When selecting the smart thermostats for this list, I wanted to cover a fairly wide price range, from top-of-the-range models such as the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium to low-cost alternatives such as the Amazon Smart Thermostat. I also wanted to include options that worked with all the major virtual assistants; whilst most models work with Alexa, for example, there are many that aren’t HomeKit-compatible.
How to pick a smart thermostat for your home
When you’re choosing a smart thermostat for your home, there are some important questions you’ll need to ask before you bite the bullet.
Is the smart thermostat compatible with my home?
This is a very important consideration before you make a purchase. Some smart thermostats require connection to what is known as a C-wire. This is a wire that can provide constant power to your smart thermostat, but not every home will have one. You’ll need to check whether you have a C-wire in your home; if you don’t, some thermostats offer power extender kits that can be used instead.
What virtual assistants are compatible with my smart thermostat?
Although almost all smart thermostats will work with one of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, it’s not always the case that they’re compatible with all three. If you have a lot of smart speakers in your home, it’s worth checking that the smart thermostat you buy supports that particular virtual assistant. If it’s not mentioned in the description or shown on the packaging, it’s probably not supported.
How much should I spend on a smart thermostat?
There is no right or wrong answer to this question; it all depends on what you want from your smart thermostat, and how much you have available to spend. A low-cost smart thermostat such as the models from Wyze or Amazon will do a great job and can save you money on your energy bills. If you want an all-singing, all-dancing smart thermostat like the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, then you’ll need to pay a premium price.
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