Thinking about swapping out your old thermostat for a state-of-the-art smart one? Take a look at these four smart thermostats that are among the best CNET has reviewed so far to see if you might be ready for an upgrade.
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Ecobee4
Product Review: https://www.cnet.com/products/ecobee4-smart-thermostat/review/#ftag=CAD187281f
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding) The good: Ecobee’s $249 Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat has a responsive display, a remote sensor and tons of smart integrations, including a built-in Amazon Alexa speaker.
The bad: The price is high, particularly if you don’t care about the Alexa speaker or the Ecobee4’s other smart capabilities.
The cost: $236.90 to $249.00
The bottom line: There’s no comparison — the Ecobee4 is the best smart thermostat available today.
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Nest Learning Thermostat
Product Review: https://www.cnet.com/products/nest-learning-thermostat-third-generation/#ftag=CAD187281f
CNET rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding) The good: The next-gen Nest Learning Thermostat has a larger display, a better resolution and an all-new far-field sensor for viewing time and temperature information from a distance. It works with Amazon’s Alexa, too.
The bad: Nest is behind in the accessories department; remote temperature sensors would add a lot to this smart thermostat’s functionality.
The cost: $226.98 to $249.99
The bottom line: Nest is still a solid smart thermostat, but it isn’t massively different from the second-gen model and the Ecobee4 offers more features.
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Honeywell Lyric T5
Product Review: https://www.cnet.com/products/honeywell-lyric-t5-wi-fi-thermostat/review/#ftag=CAD187281f
CNET rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: The $150 Honeywell Lyric T5’s geofencing feature worked consistently well, it automated my Home and Away settings every time without complaint, and it sent prompt notifications alerting me to the changes.
The bad: While we like the thermostat’s general design, the font and layout of the touchscreen interface looks dated. I would like to see integrations with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT.
The cost: $101.51 to $149.99
The bottom line: Honeywell’s Siri-, Alexa-, and geofencing-enabled Lyric T5 is smart, it works well and it offers a better value than other connected thermostats.
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Ecobee3 Lite
Product Review: https://www.cnet.com/products/ecobee3-lite-smart-thermostat/review/#ftag=CAD187281f
CNET rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 (Excellent)
The good: A responsive touchscreen and integrations with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT give the lower-priced $195 Ecobee3 Lite Smart Thermostat serious appeal.
The bad: “Smart” is a bit of a stretch for the Ecobee3 Lite, since it doesn’t rely on activity-tracking sensors or any other sort of adaptive tech to learn your routine. $195 is still a lot to spend, especially on a programmable thermostat.
The cost: $194.50 to $194.99
The bottom line: No other Wi-Fi thermostat available today offers this many smart home partnerships for this low of a price, but you should weigh the importance of the integrations against the MSRP — many 7-day app-enabled programmable thermostats cost just $100.
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The following CNET staff contributed to this story: Senior Associate Editor Megan Wollerton and Senior Editor Laura K. Cucullu. For more reviews of personal technology products, please visit www.cnet.com.
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