Recommendations for programmable thermostats

[pmack3641]

Read that the GE CYNC was good, but the app was poor. Any suggestions.

 

[Hellsyeah]

We have had an ecobee for a few years and have no complaints

 

[cowbell88]

Have both Sensi and Honeywell home. Both are app based and both are supposed to be voice assisted ie. “Alexa set thermostat to 68 degrees”. I only use the Sensi with Alexa at home.

 

[Noname.sixpack]

2nd'ed. No issues with two ecobees. Although I have no experience with other brands. Not sure how fancy they can get, or should get. I'm an old though.

 

[Jwsjr]

Looking at doing same thing. I have a home warranty. Yea i know.....i never ever buy extended warranties. However, I have 3 stand alone ice makers....you couldn't pry my home warranty out of my hands just for that....$50/month. Ice makers are the most unreliable appliance ever. They stand basically zero chance of turning a profit on me. They never asked me how many i have and no limits are listed in the policy. BUT, they do offer a discount and installation of Google Nest programmable thermostats so i'm just starting to research. We're not really using Alexa much. I guess that could change one day.

 

[HamSammich]

Add my family on the ecobee votes. Have two units and the interface is great.

 

[JML105]

I'll second the Sensi. I've had them for years without issue and they are simple to program as is the app. I like that I can use them in auto mode so the heat or AC will come on as needed since in the spring and fall the AC is on when we go to bed and the heat is needed by the morning time.

 

[MStateU]

I happen to enjoy the game in the spring and fall of how cold will it be in this house when I wake up in the morning because I refuse to turn the heat on when I’ve been running air all day.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Honeywell used to be great. Not so much anymore unless you fork out the bigger money.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I have two Sensis and have had zero trouble out of them. Had them for almost 3 years now and no telling how much money we’ve saved programming the thermostat.

 

[onewoof]

Nest is really the defacto smart thermostat. You don't have to get the AI version which costs $100 more I think.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Another vote for the Ecobee3. You can really geek out with sensors, smart features, schedule programs and comfort settings. They also integrate with Siri to make hand free adjustments. Probably the best feature I use at my house is I have sensors throughout the house. I have a program to adjust the temp based on the most occupied room in the house or a sensor at specific times of the day.

Being on the board of Trustees for my church I had them installed there as well. We have 4 units and it is handy to group sensors and thermostats to work together to create separate zones in the church. Also I can adjust the temp from my seat during service.

I have not had a single issue at home or the church since installing them back in 2019.

 

[Dawgbite]

I spent most of my childhood as a TV remote for my father. I wasn’t just the simple single remote, I was a universal remote that would turn the dial on the antenna direction thing on top of the TV too. I currently use my vast experience in this area to also adjust the thermostat each of the four times a year that it requires changing. Sheesh!

 

[aTotal360]

I like the Nest because it interfaces with the Google Home app. The Ecobees (and some of the Honeywells) have the advantage of truly locking them down. So if you have a secondary home or rental, you don't have to worry about people jacking with the temp.

 

[ronpolk]

I have 2 nest. I like them and would recommend

 

[msstatelp1]

I have a Honeywell T9 and would have a hard time recommending it. The temp control functions and scheduled programming work good but the geofencing and staying connected to the internet have been problems.

 

[fedxdog]

Ecobee for the win. We have 4 in two locations and couldn’t be happier. Recommended by HVAC contractor because of issues with Nest. Two years of worry free operation.

 

[Msubdogs1]

Atmos will reimburse $100 towards your purchase

 

[PBDog]

I have nest and ecobee in two different homes. The ecobee is leaps better. The nest is too smart and difficult to control and set where I want plus the app sucks.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Ecobee is solid. If you have a room away from the thermostat that stays hot/cold, you can add a sensor in there to help that issue.

 

[MSUCE99]

I got an Evobee 3 Lite with additional room sensor at Costco last year for $169. Atmos was offering $75 rebate I think and Entergy was offering $100, or vice versa. The rebates are stackable. So I basically got it for free. Love the Ecobee.

 

[onewoof]

as you have noticed, everyone comments based on what they bought, and believes its the best i.e. confirmation bias.

Here is a good review, and Amazon Smart Thermostat wins and is 25% of the cost of Nest and Ecobee

https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/best-smart-thermostats/

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Me too. VHF/UHF plus channel control, plus "beat the TV" when horizontal alignment got out of whack. I pretty much played outside daylight to dark to avoid being the remote. I think that may have been his tactic. Either the kid will do my bidding or I'll sit here in peace and quiet while he plays outside.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I don't think that is confirmation bias. If my Ecobee's sucked, I'd say they suck don't by one. It's a description of experience. You've provided a comparison that should interest the OP and would be good info for me if I hadn't already had Ecobee's for years.

ETA: Upon reading the review, I can tell you that the Ecobee is more platform independent and it comes with a C wire adapter that will cost you extra if you go Amazon. So "best" is still very subjective.

 

[The Peeper]

Here's the Atmos link, its for $25-$100 depending on the model

http://file:///C:/Users/buddyb/AppD...ermostat_installation_flier_update-r1_web.pdf

 

[turkish]

as you have noticed, everyone comments based on what they bought, and believes its the best i.e. confirmation bias.

Here is a good review, and Amazon Smart Thermostat wins and is 25% of the cost of Nest and Ecobee

https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/best-smart-thermostats/

You trust a paid reviewer over your fellow Bulldogs who’ve actually used these items?

For the OP:
I have bad luck with things that use gasoline or electricity. I’ve come to expect it with most purchases — just weird surprises. My Ecobees have been rock solid dependable. I needed their customer service during the install for a wiring question no one else on the searchable internet had documented. An American guy on Ecobee’s support line diagnosed my problem in 5 minutes and walked me thru the fix. This guy had clearly worked on this type of equipment himself. This was 4 years ago — I hope their service is still top notch.

For now, Ecobee ftw! Oh and the remote room sensors are fantastic and not available on all competitors.

 

[onewoof]

Nest has remote sensors and remote sensors are trivial honestly.

For $60 there's no contest here. Amazon wins. Ecobee isn't even an American company btw