Warming up to smart thermostats
Ecobee4
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
The good: The Ecobee4 has a responsive display, a remote sensor and tons of smart integrations, including a builtin Amazon Alexa speaker.
The bad: The price is high, particularly if you don’t care about the Alexa speaker or the other smart capabilities.
The cost: $237 to $249
The bottom line: The best smart thermostat available today.
Nest Learning Thermostat
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
The good: The Nest has a larger display, a better resolution and a far-field sensor for viewing time and temperature information from a distance. It works with Alexa, too. The bad: Nest is behind in the accessories department; remote temperature sensors would add a lot to functionality.
The cost: $227 to $250
The bottom line: Nest is a solid smart thermostat, but not hugely different from the second-gen model, and the Ecobee4 offers more features.
Honeywell Lyric T5
Cnet rating: 4.0 stars out of 5
The good: The T5’s geofencing feature worked consistently well, it automated Home and Away settings every time without complaint, and it sent prompt notifications about the changes.
The bad: The font and layout of the touchscreen interface look dated. It also should have integrations with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT. The cost: $102 to $150
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.
Ecobee3 Lite
Cnet rating: 4.0 stars out of 5
The good: A responsive touchscreen and integrations with Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, Wink and IFTTT give the Ecobee3 Lite serious appeal.
The bad: “Smart” is a bit of a stretch, since it doesn’t rely on activity-tracking sensors or any other sort of adaptive tech to learn your routine. And $195 is still a lot to spend, especially on a programmable thermostat. The cost: $195
The bottom line: No other Wi-Fi thermostat offers as many smart home partnerships for this low of a price, but many 7-day app-enabled programmable thermostats cost just $100.