Standard or smart thermostats: everything you wanted to know

At CNET, we have been test smart thermostats for years, so it’s always a little surprising to hear: “What is a smart thermostat?” But only a fraction of American households, about 17%, actually use smart thermostats. It’s a shame, because it’s one of my favorite smart home innovations and offers practical benefits for almost everyone.

So what’s the difference, other than flashy new touchscreen designs? I’m going to explain what’s new with these thermostats and how your heating and cooling will never be the same again (neither will your energy bills).

Scheduled heating and cooling

Both smart and traditional thermostats have programmable settings, allowing you to set temperature thresholds for specific times and days of the week, and change them as the seasons change. The biggest difference is that smart thermostats make this much easier.

With older programmable thermostats, you are primarily forced to program with the thermostats’ manual controls. Smart thermostats let you set schedules from the app, wherever you are, and you can usually save and switch between schedules on the fly, making the process considerably smoother.

Learn more: Do not place your thermostat in these locations

Costs

You can find a standard programmable thermostat without the bells and whistles for under $20 from brands like Honeywell Home (although those with fancy touchscreens will cost more), so they’re an easy way to save money if you need a replacement. Smart thermostats, with all their added features, cost a lot more. Amazon has one of the cheapest under $100but for something like the 4th Gen Nest Learning Thermostat, you’ll have to pay almost $300.

Energy savings

Programmable thermostats will save you money, as long as you stick to strict temperature settings at certain times of the day and night. Smart thermostats don’t necessarily save more, but they make saving so much easier that homes tend to save more because very few users have the time to constantly adjust a standard thermostat for maximum savings.

With settings like eco modes and monthly energy savings reports, smart thermostats tend to save the average household significant amounts of money. Google Nest studies have estimated that the average user saves around 15% on their energy bills per year, while Ecobee claims users can save up to 26% on the high end. That’s easily enough to cover the upfront costs of a smart thermostat in a year or two.

Remote operation

A regular thermostat has no app connections and will at most have a remote control that you can use throughout the house. Smart thermostats, on the other hand, have Wi-Fi connections and apps. This means that as long as you have your phone and a connection, you can change the thermostat.

For some people, this is an important feature: they can adjust the temperature while on vacation or if they forget while away from home. Others only agree to make changes when they are at home.

Automatic learning and adjustment

A regular thermostat will heat or cool your home exactly when and how you tell it to. The same will be true for a smart thermostat unless you enable its smarter features. Smart thermostats include learning algorithms and sensors that study activity in the home, such as when people get up in the morning and start moving around.

With basic data like this, smart thermostats can start making adjustments to know when to turn up the heat or start to cool down, and when to hold back because no one is home. Essentially, they can program themselves and respond to significant changes in their habits.

Additionally, many new smart thermostats come with satellite sensors that you can place in specific rooms that traditional thermostats may not be able to “read” very well, increasing the accuracy of their temperature sensing.

Energy savings

Programmable thermostats will save you money, as long as you stick to strict temperature settings at certain times of the day and night. Smart thermostats don’t necessarily save more, but they make saving so much easier that homes tend to save more because very few users have the time to constantly adjust a standard thermostat for maximum savings.

With settings like eco modes and monthly energy savings reports, smart thermostats tend to save the average household significant amounts of money. Google Nest studies have estimated that the average user saves around 15% on their energy bills per year, while Ecobee claims users can save up to 26% on the high end. That’s easily enough to cover the upfront costs of a smart thermostat in a year or two.

Facility

Smart and standard thermostats are installed the same way: by connecting various wires to the thermostat base plate. Both also offer professional installation services, so there isn’t much difference here.

The biggest difference is that smart thermostats won’t work equally well with all home systems. For example, smart thermostats won’t make a huge difference if you use radiant floor heating as your primary heat source (it responds more slowly and doesn’t affect the thermostat’s sensors in the same way), so you might as well save money with a simpler thermostat.

Connections to other devices

Smart thermostats can often connect to other smart home technology, including security hubs and custom triggers, through platforms like IFTTT or Controller for HomeKit. Since smart thermostats tend to have additional sensors for humidity or air quality, they can trigger things like air purifiers, fans, dehumidifiers and more. Some smart thermostats even come with built-in voice assistants, while most at least support voice assistant control through Alexa, Google’s voice assistant, and more.

Regular thermostats don’t have any of these connections, so you usually can’t connect them to home routines or set temperature triggers for other devices.

Conclusion

Smart thermostats make it much easier to save money than regular thermostats and come with many additional features, including the ability to connect them to voice assistants and other smart home devices. They’re also sleek, smart devices that display personalized information about your home and the weather, while learning your habits and automatically adjusting the heating or cooling – no micromanagement necessary. Plus, unlike regular thermostats, you can control them from anywhere.

In turn, the big downside to smart thermostats is that they cost a lot more than a regular thermostat replacement, although they tend to pay for themselves within a year or two. However, not everyone is comfortable with using an app to schedule or letting a smart thermostat make changes on its own, so some users may feel uncomfortable with the change.

Ready to learn even more? Check out our guide to the best settings to use on your smart thermostat for the season, the easiest steps to save on heating and cooling bills, and the best smart devices for the home overall.