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Summary
Smart thermostats are a great addition to any smart home.
Two of the most popular on the market are the Google Nest Learning Thermostat and Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium.
Let’s take a look at both to help you find the best option for your home.
Google/Ecobee
The Google Nest Learning Thermostat has a 2.0-inch color display in the center of the unit.
But instead of a touchscreen, the Nest option takes cues from an old-school thermostat.
The ring around the thermostat can be turned up and down.
Press it down when you want to select something on the thermostat.
Ecobee’s Smart Thermostat Premium puts a more modern spin on control.
Youll interact with the thermostat on its 2.9-inch color touchscreen, just like a smartphone or tablet.
Ecobee
Both companies offer plenty of material to help guide you through installation to make the process relatively easy.
The wire provides full-time power to help keep the thermostat powered.
With old-school models, that often wasnt needed.
Ecobee
But a smart thermostat needs power at all times.
Nest and Ecobee offer solutions to the C-wire dilemma but in different ways.
That will need to be installed on your furnace to create a C-wire from existing wiring.
Brent Dirks / How-To Geek
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is far and away ahead of the Google Nest Learning Thermostat.
Googles option can be controlled by the Google Home ecosystem or Amazon Alexa.
Each Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium comes with a SmartSensor.
That can help manage hot and cold spots around your home and deliver the most comfortable temperature.
It can also be used to automatically adjust the temperature when you leave home.
it’s possible for you to purchase additional sensors if youd like.
A Google Nest Temperature sensor is an optional purchase and doesnt come with the Learning Thermostat.
If youre looking to build a larger smart home, the Ecobee thermostat should also be your top choice.
It will also sound the doorbell chime through the thermostats speaker.
Additionally, the thermostat can be used as the hub of an optional smart home security system.
These are among some of the most usefulsmart thermostat features that you should be using.
One of the best ways to do that is by scheduling.
Why pay for using your air conditioner while youre at work or on vacation?
The Google Nest Learning Thermostat takes its name seriously with an auto-scheduling feature.
After installation, the thermostat will learn how you use it and then automatically create a schedule to match.
Doing that takes a lot of work out of the process.
Alternatively, you’re free to create a manual schedule on the Nest thermostat itself or app.
Ecobee doesnt offer a powerful automatic scheduling feature and instead needs your assistant to create a manual schedule.
But do note, as explained, Ecobee includes a SmartSensor while the Nest sensor is an additional purchase.
