The Best Smart Thermostats for 2021

There are a lot of reasons to love the Ecobee SmartThermostat. For starters, the install process is pretty painless. Even if you don’t have a C-wire, Ecobee has you covered with a power extender kit included. Plus, the installation instructions are easy to follow, and the setup process is quick.

Available in Snow, Sand, Fog, and charcoal colors, the Google Nest Thermostat is Google’s latest mid-tier offering, standing just a step behind its premier Learning model (featured below). Capable of Alexa and Google Assistant controls, the redesigned thermostat features a mirrored display and side-mapped touch controls as opposed to the physical settings dial of the previous E model.

Using the Google Home app, you can adjust the temperature, create customized routines, monitor HVAC usage, and more. There’s even a routine function that can be paired with other smart devices. For instance, uttering a voice command such as “good morning” can draw your smart blinds, tune your Google Nest Hub to your favorite morning podcast, and set your to your ideal 10:00 a.m. temperature. All of these great features can be had for only $130, which in the world of smart thermostats isn’t half bad.

In a nutshell, the Honeywell Lyric taps into your location and local weather forecasts via Wi-Fi. The circular device will then anticipate potential temperature changes and compensate for the weather while offering a host of shortcut settings for straightforward programming and operation.

The thermostat features three standard modes — one for when you’re sleeping, one for when you’re leaving your home, and another for when you’re arriving — all of which you can adjust using the mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

The Honeywell Lyric will adjust accordingly to save you the maximum amount of money, but if you prefer to work outside the box, you can set custom settings to fit your household. Honeywell makes three of the five thermostats that work with SmartThings, including the Lyric. Much like the new Nest, it works with Alexa, but it can also work with HomeKit, which is something we can’t say for Google’s Nest thermostat.

Yes and no. Most smart thermostats require a common wire (C-wire), which allows for continuous flow of 24V AC power to the thermostat. If you have an older home, you may not have a C-wire. Some thermostats don’t require a C-wire, others, like the Ecobee SmartThermostat, include an adapter for homes that don’t have a C-wire. You can also run a wire between your furnace and thermostat or purchase a separate adapter if needed.

It depends. Typical thermostats measure the home’s temperature in one area of the home, like a hallway or entryway, and use that measurement to heat or cool the entire home. Room sensors are more specific. They measure the temperature in a specific room, like a bedroom or basement, and adjust the temp based on that individual area. If you have a relatively large home or if you have some rooms that don’t heat or cool as well as others, room sensors can help heat or cool your home better. On the other hand, if you live in a smaller space or a wide-open area, room sensors probably aren’t necessary.

This depends on how advanced you want your system to be. If you want a simple and clean app where you can schedule your heating and cooling and perform basic functions, the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app is a good choice. However, if you’re looking for something with more features, you may prefer the Nest app.

Successful smart thermostats aren’t determined solely by how well they regulate temperature; their overall costs and speed at which they modify temperatures also play a part. When we conduct our testing, we monitor performance levels, how user-friendly the thermostat is, the installation process, and whether it saves you money.

There’s a learning curve to figuring out exactly how your smart thermostat works, but once you figure it out, you’ll see how it can benefit you. We study how steep the learning curve is and how well the device can detect people coming in and out. Many customers also see the thermostat as the “center of command” for their smart home ecosystems. With that in mind, we test to be sure the thermostat communicates and connects well with other devices.

We made sure to use voice commands when testing thermostats because we wanted to make sure they were responsive, whether they were compatible with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant. Generally, we also check to see whether the thermostat is energy efficient and saves your house money and how much you’ll need to interact with the device after it begins to learn your usual routines.

While we try to test every thermostat in the Digital Trends lab or an employee’s home, we’re not able to get to them all. In that case, we do extensive online research before we recommend a product.

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