Best Wifi Thermostats Review 2017

June 17, 2016 /
Heating & Cooling /
By Tzuyu

Introduction

Nowadays, Wifi thermostat is a must-have technology device in your precious house. More than a traditional thermostat, this smart kind of thermostat not only allows you adjust your house temperature extremely flexibly, but also help you save monthly energy cost, control your HVAC from anywhere at any time, even understand your habits and bring many other advantages you are about to know right now. Google keyword “best Wifi thermostats”, you must be so confused to choose your suitable one between tons of thermostats out there. Let’s me help you with this!

Best Wifi Thermostat Reviews - The Ultimate Buying Guide

Introduction

Buying Guides

Tip 1: Knowing about your heating and cooling system

Tip 2: Understand your using habit

Tip 3: Consider your interests

Comparision Chart of Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats

Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats Review

Best budget - White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat

Best flexibility - Honeywell RTH9580WF Wifi Touch screen Thermostat

Best for large house - ecobee3 Smarter Wifi Thermostat with Remote Sensor, 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa

Best learning and best for small house - Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Works with Alexa

Conclusion

Buying Guides

First of all, you should know about basic information about choosing the right thermostat

Tip 1: Knowing about your heating and cooling system

Compatibility :
In modern day homes nowadays, the most common central heating and cooling systems can be 24V, oil, gas, heat bump or electric. However heat pump systems are more efficient than other heating ones as they allow you to choose how much auxiliary heat to use. It’s said that a smart thermostat can be compatible with many types of HVAC system, but you don’t set up a thermostat and realize it doesn’t work, simply because that thermostat doesn’t not support your heating and cooling system. Remember, compatible or not, this thing needs to be confirmed 100%!

C-wire or not :
Most kinds of thermostat do require C-wire to provide power for itself. Make sure your HVAC have C-wire or that thermostat has its own battery. You may find another wire to assume that function, but you cannot be sure about the stability of power in this case.

Tip 2: Understand your using habit

If your timetable is stable, for example, you go out to work every weekday at 8 am, come back home at 7 pm and usually spend most of your time on the weekends, a thermostat can learn your habit or support weekend program will be wonderful.

If your time at home is totally irregular, a thermostat knows when you’re away or you’re about to reach home will be so useful.

Tip 3: Consider your interests

You are a geek, aren’t you? Then I’m sure you won’t skip types of thermostat allowing its owner do things as much as possible. It’s usually not easy to use much and the price will be higher though.

In addition, if you do care about the look in your house, do not ignore thermostats with beautifully designed cover.

I love using and researching about Wifi thermostat and one of my picks below will definitely give you which thermostat you really need.

Comparision Chart of Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats

Temperature Control

	Ecobee3	Honeywell	Nest Learning	Emerson
Preview
Heating Stages	4	2	3	4
Cooling Stages	2	2	2	2
Temperature Swing	+/- 1° F	+/- 1° F	+/- 3° F	+/- 1° F
Programmable Fan
Keypad Lock
Auto Changeover

Energy Management

	Ecobee3	Honeywell
Seven-Day Scheduling
Away/Vacation Features
Auto-Schedule
Geofencing	Via IFTTT	Via IFTTT
Instant Savings Feedback
Time to Target Temperature

Sensors

	Ecobee3	Honeywell	Nest Learning	Emerson
Equipment Status
Weather Conditions
Humidity Sensor
Motion Sensor

Design

	Ecobee3	Honeywell	Nest Learning	Emerson
Ease of Use	99%	87%	97%	85%
Home Automation Platform	Alexa; HomeKit; SmartThings; Wink; ZigBee	Wink	Nest; Alexa	Alexa; Wink
Wi-Fi
IFTTT Integration
Mobile App

Setup

	Ecobee3	Honeywell	Nest Learning	Emerson
Ease of Installation	91%	73%	99%	89%
Built-in Level
Interactive Compatibility Check
Common Wire Not Required

Help and support

	Ecobee3	Honeywell	Nest Learning	Emerson
Warranty	3 Years	1 Year	2 Years	3 Years
Online Forum
Email
Phone
Live Chat

Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats Review

Picture	Product	Rating

	ecobee3 Smarter Wifi Thermostat with Remote Sensor, 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa
	Honeywell RTH9580WF Wifi Touch screen Thermostat
	Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Works with Alexa
	White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat

Best budget - White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat

TheHomeDevice.com-White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat – Best budget

Emerson may be the oldest name in thermostat market with more 125 years of experience working with a huge variety of HVAC systems. First, I need to say, this Sensi doesn’t have too many functions like other same types of thermostat but it does have great support with the extremely reasonable price. Programmable, convenient, reliable, understandable are what you can see at White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat.

Pros

Price: You won’t be able to find other better Wifi thermostat less than 100$, having many advanced features and run extremely smoothly like White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi.

Compatibility

No other Wifi thermostat works with more systems than Sensi until now : Looks like a traditional thermostat, which might suit your home better than some of the more futuristic-looking thermostats.. Sensi thermostat is designed to work on the following heating and cooling systems including Gas, Radiant and Heat Pump, Oil, Electric… (up to 4 stages of Heating and 2 stages of Cooling Heat-Only)
No need C-wire : There are some types of HVAC systems which doesn’t have C-wire to power your thermostat while Sensi only uses 2 standard AA batteries for its operation. However, these cool-only or heat-only systems will need C-wire for this thermostat.

Versatility

Adjust cycling speed : You can choose between three levels of cycling speed (slow, medium, fast) with Sensi, unlikely other thermostat cycles the furnace much too frequently (about 7 on-off cycles per hour) and the cycle speed difference on such device is non-adjustable.
Custom 7 Day scheduling and allow to set up as many different temperatures in a day as you want. This helps reduce wasteful energy costs for cooling or heating and keep you in the most comfortable condition.

Performance and utilities

Maintaining a stable connection is much better than other kinds of Wifi thermostat. It means you will need to worry about the ability to control your room temperature from anywhere.
Narrow degree swing range 1+/- compared to 3+/-
Keep your thermostat programs through power loss. Beside, you can receive loss of heating or cooling or high and low temperature alert emails like any other thermostats in this article.
Both device and application interface are simply and easy to use. From application, you can check humidity, fan settings, temperature, auto/off toggle

Smart home

Connect with multiple smart home platforms – now compatible with Amazon Echo and Wink
Amazon Echo integration and Wink Home Hub integration for centralized control of your home’s smart things

Cons

Usage and energy report is not available. It means you cannot track down how exactly you can save money thanks to use this Emerson Sensi
There is no auto-schedule
Don’t have built-in humidistat

Thinks We Liked

Price
Compatibility, No need C-wire
Adjust cycling speed, Custom 7 Day scheduling
Performance and utilities
Connect with multiple smart home platforms

Things We Didn't Like

Usage and energy report
No auto-schedule
Versatility
Don’t have built-in humidistat

See Detail Reviews

Purchase This Product on Amazon

Best flexibility - Honeywell RTH9580WF Wifi Touch screen Thermostat

Honeywell is one of the excellent Wifi thermostats I've tested. You know what? This Wifi-enabled model is made by thermostat giant Honeywell in direct response to the innovative Nest Learning Thermostat.

Pros

Versatility

Smart, flexible scheduling : You can rely on Honeywell algorithms to control temperature based on your daily comings and goings, your ons and offs, or you can do it by yourself. Therefore, even if you don’t set any temperature schedule, Honeywell still can adjust your room temperature house.
Geofencing capabilities : Based on your location, this thermostat can activate and deactivate HAVC or run schedule that you prefer when your house or your business is unoccupied.
Ability to learn how long to hold that temperature for : Meaning, if you set thermostat to change the temperature at 5am and it takes about 30 mins to reach your desired temperature, next time, Honeywell will start earlier so the temperature is reached at exact 5am (not an hour later).
FAN setting : There are 4 settings for the fan: AUTO (fan is ON only while AC is running), CIRCULATE (fan ON about 33% of the time), ON - always running regardless of A/C status, and FOLLOW SCHEDULE (per time/days set up in the customized schedule).
Advanced security : Not prevent other to change your house temperature or just allow to change in a fixed range like other thermostats, you can grant access to the third parties. By adding emails in your ‘My Total Connect Comfort’ account, for example relatives’ emails, you can give them the right to take advantage of the thermostat’s features via the touch screen interface or by using the companion application.
Customizable color settings to match your favorite or decor.

Performance and utilities

Filter change reminder : It will let you know when your air filter needs to be replaced and help you save money with this.
Informative display : The indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, Date and time is on the home screen .
Intuitive application and device .

Price: It comes with totally reasonable price compared to all functions it has.

Cons

Require C-wire and does not work with heat pumps with electric baseboard heat (120-240 volts)
Doesn’t have energy usage report
Cover design is not really eye-catching
The frequent log-outs in application are annoying because Honeywell wants to guarantee your security.

Thinks We Liked

Smart, flexible scheduling
Geofencing capabilities
Ability to learn how long to hold that temperature for
FAN setting
Advanced security
Filter change reminder, Informative display

Things We Didn't Like

Require C-wire
Not work with heat pumps
Doesn’t have energy usage report
Cover design is not really eye-catching

See Detail Reviews

Purchase This Product on Amazon

Best for large house - ecobee3 Smarter Wifi Thermostat with Remote Sensor, 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa

Ecobee3 Wifi Thermostat with Remote Sensor is the newest production of Toronto-based company released just in September 2014 and this company was actually the first one to come out with an app-enabled thermostat. The fact that ordinary thermostats just read the temperature in one room and this can cause uncomfortable feelings in important rooms like your bedroom.

Pros

Versatility

Turn on your HAVC system based on the weather outside, your home's unique energy profile and thousands of other data points to deliver your comfort all the time
Add more remote sensors : This is the most impressive feature of Ecobee3 that other thermostats in the markets don’t have. Remote temperature and motion sensor going along with ecobee that can be can be mounted to a wall or stand anywhere in your house. Imagine there is a huge temperature differential between the two floors in your house, what would you do when moving from this floor to that floor? Just adjust temperature manually? The sensors solve this problem by measuring the temperature in multiple locations and send a call to the thermostat to deliver comfort in the room that matter most. Ecobee3 supports up to 32 sensors to more accurately monitor and manage temperature.
Follow me : Turn on this feature, then move from the bedroom to the kitchen which is an area of the house that isn’t at the defined temperature, the HAVC system will kick on until the room you are in reaches the specified temperature. So convenient, right? On the other hand, you can use mode to average the temperature between the main unit and the sensor.
Away feature : Thanks to the sensor's motion detector, ecobee will bring the room up to the expected temperature (Home mode) when it is occupied, or suspend heating and cooling (Away mode) when it is unoccupied.

Performance and utilities

Run smoothly : Manual changes made directly on the screen will be performed immediately. It also shows a very slight lag (around five seconds) when responding to changes made via Wifi on your portalable devices.
Modern and sleek cover design, starring full color capacitive touch display
Well-designed iOS and Android apps and web portal: They create a familiar experience on the device and on your phone and offer the same basic functionality as the device does, but you can't configure the remote sensors from the app or web portal.
Track your energy usage so you can acknowledge how ecobee help you saving monthly cost.

Smart home

Support HomeKit-compatibly : With this, you can control your ecobee3 Wifi thermostat using Siri on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Remote sensors also will be smarter about automating your HVAC system.
Works with Alexa for voice control.

Compatibility

Designed to be compatible with 95% of homes including Conventional (2H/2C) Heat pump (4H/2C) incl. 2-stage auxiliary heat; Dual fuel support; Gas, oil, electric; Humidifier, Dehumidifier, Ventilator, HRV or ERV.

Cons

Need C-wire : If your HVAC unit only has four wires running to your thermostat, you may need Power Extender Kit with your purchase free of charge that does the work of the C wire.
A bit high price : But if you factor in the remote sensors, price of Ecobee3 is really competitive.

Thinks We Liked

Add more remote sensors
Follow me
Away feature
Run smoothly
Well-designed
Support Home
Alexa for voice c
Compatibility

Things We Didn't Like

Need C-wire
A bit high price

See Detail Reviews

Purchase This Product on Amazon

Best learning and best for small house - Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Works with Alexa

TheHomeDevice.com-Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Works with Alexa

Nest Learning Thermostat is the champion about ability to “learn” your habits. This feature specially works efficiently once you locate your Nest where you walk by frequently and your house is not too big. Saving over 4 billion kWh of energy in homes around the world has been the result Nest brings to you since 2011, and this sophisticated supremely a thermostat can work wonders for you too.

Pros

Versatility

Self learning to accurately schedule your room temperature : Learn your home heating and cooling needs and program itself accordingly is the great ability only Nest does have. You don’t even need to read instruction or ask your friend how to set up the temperature schedule with Nest. Just give Nest few days at the beginning and then let it perform the job perfectly.
Auto Away feature : Thanks to remote sensor to detect motion and geofencing, it will turn the furnace/air conditioning on/off based on whether you are at home or not. You can use apps or web portal to check how Nest is working while you are away.
Airwave feature : By continuing to run your blower after turning the AC off instead of being off both of them at the same time, this Airwave definitely can save your money. Do not need to waste of time to program Nest and wonder about the monthly cost of energy bill anymore.
The ability to calculate time to heat or cool temperature (based on the heating and cooling units)

Performance and utilities

Run smoothly and efficiently : Everything is always on track. Whatever you change by touching the device or by your mobile will be applied right away.
Furnace Heads-Up : This feature is essential for those with a forced-air furnace system. It keeps track of the times your forced-air furnace automatically turns off to prevent overheating.
It Sees You Coming : Turn on Farsight feature, when you’re just from a distance, Nest’s Thermostat will light up and shows the time or temperature you’ve chosen from across the room. Don’t even need to touch for waking up your thermostat!
Bright and wonderful design : Without a doubt, installing any Nest thermostat will brighten and make your house become more modern and classy. Big display screen is really elegant.

Smart home

No need C-wire because Nest runs by its own battery .

Compatibility

No need C-wire because Nest runs by its own battery .
95% of HAVC system can be controlled by Nest

Cons

The price is not cheap at all.
There is no HomeKit & Siri support because Nest is owned by Google.

Thinks We Liked

Auto schedule
Auto Away feature
Airwave feature
Run smoothly and efficiently
Furnace Heads-Up
Farsight feature
Bright and wonderful design

Things We Didn't Like

High price
No HomeKit & Siri support

See Detail Reviews

Purchase This Product on Amazon

Conclusion

Now you can recognize what advantages a Wifi thermostat can bring to you and how each branch of thermostat branch can meet your demands. All thermostats above are worthy to appear in your lovely house. Just remember, the most suitable Wifi thermostat is always available for each of you!

About the Author Tzuyu

Previous Post 6 Easy Tips to Extend the Life of Your Thermostat Next Post How Air Conditioners Work

Best Wifi Thermostats Review 2017

Introduction

Buying Guides

Tip 1: Knowing about your heating and cooling system

Tip 2: Understand your using habit

Tip 3: Consider your interests

Comparision Chart of Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats

Temperature Control

Energy Management

Sensors

Design

Setup

Help and support

Top 4 Best Wifi Thermostats Review

Best budget - White-Rodgers 1F86U-42WF Emerson Sensi Wifi Thermostat

Pros

Cons

Best flexibility - Honeywell RTH9580WF Wifi Touch screen Thermostat

Pros

Cons

Best for large house - ecobee3 Smarter Wifi Thermostat with Remote Sensor, 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa

Pros

Cons

Best learning and best for small house - Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, Works with Alexa

Pros

Cons

Conclusion

About the Author Tzuyu

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