How To Choose The Best Smart Thermostat For Your Home

HOME AUTOMATION

Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, Cor. There are so many great smart thermostats on the market, how do you choose the best one?

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide:

• Decide what you want to get out of it
• Match your wants to the right features
• Understand compatibility issues

Know what you want in a smart thermostat

The first step in deciding on the best smart thermostat for your home is to consider why you want a smart thermostat in the first place.

You can control all of them with your smartphone while sitting on your couch or at work. But what other benefits are important to you?

For example, do you want to:

• Stop manually adjusting your thermostat every time your schedule changes?
• Save money on energy costs?
• Trigger your thermostat settings based on other activities (like going to bed or arming a security system)?
• See how changes to your thermostat settings affect your energy use?
• Own the latest and coolest technology?
• Control your entire home from the same app?

Once you know what you ultimately want to achieve with a smart thermostat, you can…

Find the features that meet your needs

This is usually the step most people skip to—looking at features—and get overwhelmed.

But now that you know what’s most important to you, choosing a smart thermostat should be easy based on the features that meet those important needs.

For example, if the most important feature to you is the ability to control your whole home, including temperature, in a single app, you might want to start looking at home automation packages that include a smart thermostat.

On the other hand, let’s say you really want a thermostat that will show you how much money you’re saving. You can spend your time comparing how each thermostat records and reports on your energy use and find the one you like the best.

Some other features you may want to look at include:

• Smart scheduling — Using either your location (from an app on your phone) or motion detectors, smart thermostats can automatically schedule your thermostat for maximum energy efficiency and comfort.
• Automatic triggers — Advanced smart thermostats can tie into your existing security or home automation system, bringing even more benefits. For example, you can have your thermostat adjust the temperature automatically when your security system is armed or disarmed.
• Integration with your heating and cooling system — Some HVAC manufacturers’ thermostats are able to optimize your home’s comfort and energy efficiency because the whole system (air conditioner, furnace, thermostat, humidifier, etc.) can communicate together.

But before you make a decision, make sure you…

Double-check for compatibility

Now you’ve likely got your list narrowed down to a few contenders. But before you make a decision, ensure it will work with your existing technology and systems.

Here’s a quick checklist. Make sure the thermostat works with:

• All your devices. (Are there apps for your iPhones, iPads, Android phones/tablets, computers, etc.?)
• Your existing security system or home automation products. (If that’s important to you.)
• The brand of air conditioning/heating system you have.
• The type of AC/heat pump/furnace/blower you have. (Two-stage condensers, variable-speed blowers, etc.)
• Your home setup. (Multiple stories, zoned systems, etc.)

Have questions? We can help.

Of course, if you have any questions about any of this you can get help from a home automation expert or heating & air conditioning expert in metro Atlanta. We’re both.

Contact us today.

BriteBox is a home automation and home entertainment company serving the greater Atlanta area.