Our home can now keep up with our busy, on the go lives! The central control of your smart home can fit in you pocket. Wifi thermostats are becoming an essential step towards your home automation integration.
Installing a wifi thermostat is a simple way to save money and add comfort in knowing you can have control from anywhere, at anytime via the smartphone app or website.
Wifi Thermostat Comparison Chart
  |   |   |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| ecobee 3 SMART Thermostat | Nest Learning Thermostat - 2nd Generation | Honeywell Lyric Thermostat |
|
| Rank Order | #1 | #2 | #3 |
| Amazon Rating | 4.4/5 | 4/5 | 2.8/5 |
| Companion App | iPhone, Android, Blackberry | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android |
| Energy Savings over standard thermostat | 23% | 20% | Saving Calculator |
| Temperature Swings | +/- 1 degrees | +/- 3 degrees | +/- 1 degrees |
| Programmable Periods | 4/day | Unlimited | 4/day |
| Learning Schedule | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Display | Color Touchscreen | Color non-touchscreen | Color Touchscreen |
| User interface | Innovative | Stunning | User Friendly |
| Depth | 3.9 x 0.9 x 3.9 inches | 3.2 x 1.26 inches | 4.5 x 3.5 x 0.9 inches |
| Local Weather | ✓ | No | ✓ |
| Energy Usage Report | ✓ | ✓ | No |
| Zone Control | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote Sensors | ✓ | No | No |
| Software Updates | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Change Filter Reminder | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email Notifications | ✓ | No | ✓ |
| C Wire Required | No. Includes Power Extender Kit. | Yes | Yes |
| Compatibility Checker | Check | Check | Check |
Making life simpler
The Nest thermostat took a new approach to your home comfortable and energy efficiency by “learning” your habits. The motion tracking sensors detect when your home and away, automatically making temperature changes to save money.
Learning doesn’t stop there. Every adjustment made to the dial goes into an algorithm with the intent of you needing to make fewer adjustments over time. If you like a cooler home while you sleep, Nest will notice you set it to 69 degrees every night. After a few nights, you can go right to bed without your spouse asking, “did you turn down the thermostat?”
The ecobee 3 gathers information from multiple sensors, taking your home comfort to the next level. Knowing when your home is nice, but what if you’re spending most of your day in the office? Why cool the entire home to 72 degrees if the room your in is already at 72.
Instead of baring the hassle of teaching it your schedule over weeks, create a schedule in seconds so there’s no question about it. Ecobee did a fantastic job making the process painless. In addition to your schedule, ecobee gathers thousands of other data points such as weather and home’s energy profile.
The Honeywell Lyric determines when you leave or enter geofenced boundaries using your location from the iPhone or Android app. This has been a problem for many people. If you’re on the phone while you trigger a geofence, the Lyric might not be notified because some carries, such as Verizon, do not allow internet while on a call.
Control on the go
All three smart thermostats offer a web, iPhone, and Android app. True savings and comfort come when adjusting for unplanned events. Taking a few extra days of vacation? Getting home late from a date out?
Make a quick adjustment to the thermostat from anywhere with internet and be at ease. A few extra days of unneeded cooling or heating can add up.
Energy usage reporting
Noticing some savings on the energy bill is a plus but seeing exactly how your energy is consumed is awesome. The Nest energy reporting offers the most amount of useful information. After I looked over mine, my head was flooded with ways to cut back to save even more. The reports make it easy to view areas that need improving and encourages making small changes.
Simply put
There’s no question, the ecobee 3 is going on my wall. It looks stunning and simply just works as compared to the Nest which has to be taught and the Lyric which hates learning. The remote sensors also save money over an actual zoned system which can be pricy. In the end, both the Nest and ecobee 3 are a great product. Once Honeywell works out a few quirks in the Lyric, there’s no doubt it will be worth buying.
Why choose a wifi thermostat?
Still not convinced? It’s been a well known fact that heating and cooling makes up about 54% of a home’s energy use (energy.gov). Choosing to automate your heating and cooling system takes energy saving a step above programmable thermostat.
A 7-day programmable thermostat is no doubt the stable for saving on your energy bill. However, many days you come home early or stay out late, an extra day or two of vacation, unexpected trip to see the mother-in-law. Having the ability to adjust your wifi thermostat those times of unscheduled events can boost energy saving even more.
Some smart wifi thermostats provide reports which encourage homeowners to analysis their energy usage and make further changes to cut back.
Wifi thermostats retail for around $200 – $400, which is quite an investment for some, but the return on investment is within a year.