We've gathered up five of our favorite WiFi thermostats that are available right now. Between being aware of our location, learning our daily habits, paying attention to the weather, and factoring in the latest energy rates, this new breed of appliance has added an exciting dimension to the home. Besides, you also stand to save a few bucks on your energy bill, and be a little more eco-friendly in the process.
READ: Our top WiFi thermostats for iPhone and iPad!
ecobee3
ecobee is the grand-daddy of WiFi thermostats. On top of monitoring the climate of the room in which the primary thermostat is installed, remote sensors relay the status of other rooms throughout the house, providing comprehensive data for ecobee to manage your home temperature. Automated intelligent adjustments are made based on your activity around the house, changes in energy prices, and local weather.
Nest
Nest is a hugely popular Google-owned WiFi thermostat. The slick design carries it a long way, but it's also quite smart. A leaf icon helps you identify when Nest has achieved particularly efficient home temperature management, and a log lets you see exactly what kind of adjustments it's making throughout the day on your behalf. Nest is a great fit for the connected home with direct service tie-ins with Philips hue, Dropcam, Whirlpool washers, their own Protect smoke detectors, and plenty more.
Honeywell Lyric
Honeywell is part of the old guard of thermostats, and have upgraded to meet the latest generation head-on. A motion-sensing front face lights up the display when you get close, with easy-to-access shortcuts for regular events. Your iPhone's GPS can keep the Lyric apprised of your location and make preparations if you're on the way home. Humidity monitoring is actively factored in to temperature adjustments for a finely tuned experience.
tado
tado is a simple system built for controlling air conditioning systems over infrared with the help of companion sensors around the house. With a geo-aware app, tado can start up your A/C when you're headed home, and turn it off when you're on the way out. Connectivity spans HomeKit, IFTTT, and SmartThings. tado is an easy choice for anyone with standalone air conditioning units.
Zen Thermostat
Zen Thermostat bucks a trend of extreme automation and is pared down to the bare essentials. A simple dot grid shows the current temperature, while a touchscreen allows you to turn up or down the heat as you see fit. There are no algorithms to predict activity, as the developers have no interest in "thinking they're smarter than you". Still, Zen plugs into a variety of standards, including ZigBee and OpenHome, plus you can schedule climate changes like on most thermostats. For anyone into the minimalist look, Zen is a good place to start.
Your favorite WiFi thermostats?
Those are our picks for WiFi thermostats, but there are plenty of others out there. Let us know your favorites in the comments!
