Nest vs. Ecobee3 vs. Honeywell Lyric: Which Smart Thermostat Should You Buy?
When it comes to smart thermostats, in attendance’s a handful to go for from, but the big three that plunk out are the Nest, Ecobee4, and Honeywell Lyric rotund. We’ve tried out all three to see which one has the top edge, and everyposition their traits differ.
Can a Smart Thermostat in fact Save You Money?
all of these three smart thermostats is exclusive in its own way, so in the past we dive in and converse the likeities and differences connecting them, here’s a succinct overview of the Nest, Ecobee4, and the Lyric rotund.
Nest Thermostat
One of the more accepted options when it comes to smart thermostats is the Nest Thermostat ($250), which sports a exclusive aim from Tony Fadell, the aimer of the creative iPod (which the Nest is mildly reminiscent of with its spiraling wheel). It’s definitive trait, even if, is the aptitude to learn your routine and automatically regulatement the thermostat so that you finally don’t have to mess with it at all.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Nest Thermostat
Its client crossing point is also very client-friendly, and possibly the easiest smart thermostat to bed in and use out of the three.
If the cost of the Nest Thermostat scares you, you can grab the lower-cost report, called the Nest Thermostat E. It’s made out of forced as an alternative of metal, and the exhibit isn’t relatively as large, but it’s only $169. You can also apt get rebates from your capacity company.
Ecobee4
The Ecobee4 ($250) is the only smart thermostat that we know of that has a contact hide, so if you know how to use a smartphone, then scheming this thermostat will be a breeze. It also has the principal hide out of the three thermostats, philanthropic area for profusion of information to come into view without crowding the exhibit.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Ecobee Smart Thermostat
The Ecobee4 also comes with a isolated feeler that you can position in anadditional area, so if you have a top accommodation with an upstairs, you can position the feeler in attendance and have the thermostat use that feeler for changeable the fever as an alternative of the feeler that’s on the thermostat itself.
The principal trait of the Ecobee4, even if, is its built-in Alexa capabilities, doubling the thermostat as an Echo Dot of sorts. So if you’ve ever obligatory an Echo in your source of revenue area, this is a good way to kill two birds with one stone.
And like the Nest Thermostat, the Ecobee4 also has a insufficiently bradditional called the Ecobee3 Lite. It doesn’t come with Alexa built in, nor does it come with a isolated feeler in the box, but it’s costd at only $169.
Honeywell Lyric
The Honeywell Lyric rotund ($200) isn’t relatively as accepted as the two options on top of, but its Honeywell’s make an attempt at creating a hip and silky smart thermostat. It has a personal round shape like the Nest, and even has a like spin wheel—aleven if it’s not near as tactile as the Nest’s fluid scroll ring.
It was also nice-looking easy to bed in, and Honeywell does a straight job of potent you everyposition all the wires go. still, that’s everyposition most of the chat end, as the client crossing point is relatively buggy.
It’s of way the cheapest smart thermostat out of the three, but payments $50 more for one of the options on top of is perhaps your best bet.
What They All Have in Common
Before we get into the nitty realistic, we even ift it’d be a good idea to go over what all three of these smart thermostats can do. They have their key differences, yes, but they all let somebody in on the basic traits of a good smart thermostat, including:
iOS and robot hold
Control your thermostat away from home with your phone
collection a schedule for your A/C or heat
Geofencing and movement detection, so it knows when you’re home (Note:
The Ecobee4 uses IFTTT for geofencing) and can turn on the exhibit when you walk by
Amazon Echo hold, so you can regulate the fever with your articulate
Family sharing, so additional accommodationhold members can regulate the thermostat
survive forecast data, so you know what’s future
With all that in care, let’s look at some of the plunkout pros (and cons) of each.
Nest Doesn’t Have HomeKit
If you’re an iOS client, HomeKit is a trait that you force want with your smarthome goods, as it makes easier to hold sway over and manage them. still, the Nest Thermostat doesn’t have HomeKit, and perhaps will not at all hold it.
What Is Apple HomeKit?
Nest is owned by Google, and they’re a fierce competitor with Apple. although Google has brought many of its transportable apps to iOS, the likelihood of Nest goods receiving HomeKit hold are slim to none.
The good news is that the Ecobee4 and the Lyric rotund both have HomeKit hold, so if you totally want HomeKit in your smart thermostat, these two are your options.
Ecobee4 Doubles As an Echo Dot
As mentioned mega on top of, the Ecobee4 is not only a smart thermostat, but it’s also an Echo Dot of sorts—it comes with a microphone, amp, and Alexa all built in to give you the full familiarity that you’d generally have to pay for separately.
In the large proposal of things, this isn’t a huge pact, because you can just buy an Echo Dot for $50 (or even cheaper because the used souk is littered with them), but reduction that $50 and having one by now built into a bit you’re buying in the in the beginning position is also a nice-looking musical pact.
Nest Is the Easiest to Install
I bring into being the Nest Thermostat to be the easiest to bed in, regularly recognition to the Compatibility test tool on Nest’s website, everyposition you can write in the wires that your thermostat net has and Nest will tell you everyposition each of persons wires go on the Nest Thermostat itself. following that, it’s just a substance of plugging in wires.
How to Install and collection Up the Nest Thermostat
Furthermore, location up the Nest can be done absolutely on the unit itself, everypositionas the Lyric rotund obligatory the accompanying app to get it set up. The Ecobee4, like the Nest, was able to be set up on the unit itself, which was a bit easier than the Nest recognition to its contact hide exhibit.
still, the Ecobee4 bed in was the hardest out of the three, because it apt compels a Power Extender Kit that has to be bed ined on the furnace’s trip board. This wasn’t too hard to do, and Ecobee hold faultlessly guided me by means of the process, but it was just a insufficiently maddening to have to jump by means of mega hoops. Luckily, not every person needs to bed in the kit—it depends what HVAC usage you have.
Ecobee4 Is Best for top Homes
If you have a accommodation like mine, the upstairs is forever electric fire than the downstairs, which can be a glitch if your thermostat is downstairs. Since most thermostats use the fever feeler on the thermostat itself, it doesn’t know what the fever is upstairs, so it can’t adequately cool your complete accommodation.
How to Manually decide on Which Ecobee Sensor to Use
still, the Ecobee4 has a wireless isolated feeler that you can position anyeveryposition. In this defense, it works best positiond upstairs everyposition the fever differs. From in attendance, you can tell your Ecobee4 to use the feeler upstairs in enjoin to gauge whether the A/C or heat must be running or not.
Of way, you can in basic terms just crank up any additional thermostat to compensate for the electric fire upstairs region, but the Ecobee4’s isolated feeler makes it accurate so that you’re not assassination more energy than necessary.
Nest Has the Best User Experience
In the end, I couldn’t stop idea about the Nest. although it doesn’t have HomeKit or isolated feelers, it was the easiest smart thermostat to use. The app is in fact good and the scroll ring on the unit itself makes it undemanding and easy to control. The client crossing point just looks homely good.
added to, all of the locations presented for it are easy to get to proper from the app, everypositionas a handful of locations on the Ecobee4 compel you to login to the web portal.
The Lyric rotund Is Too pushchair to Recommend
The Lyric rotund of way isn’t a terrible smart thermostat, but it doesn’t have relatively as near the numeral of traits that the Nest and Ecobee4 have.
Overall, the Honeywell Lyric in basic terms wasn’t a good familiarity at all. The app is quite buggy—some regulatementd locations reverted back to duck after I saved and stopped up it out, and I conventional several error e-mail within just the in the beginning few days of with the thermostat. added to, I had to reconnect it to Wi-Fi, and the in the beginning few era it just wouldn’t connect.
To be truthful, I can’t suggest this thermostat at all—it may be $50 cheaper than the additional two, but you’re in fact top off with one of the additional two options.
In the end, when it comes to choosing the best one, I ponder it in fact depends on what you want out of a smart thermostat. The Nest and the Ecobee4 are with no trouble the two importance looking at, but if you want HomeKit or isolated feelers, then the Ecobee4 is the thermostat to buy. added to, the contact hide on the Ecobee4 makes it easier and more rapidly to navigate by means of menus than most additional smart thermostats. Furthermore, if you don’t need the isolated feelers of the Ecobee4, then the Ecobee3 Lite force be an even top buy at only $170.
still, the Nest has the best client crossing point, best app, and best familiarity whole, making it the proper choice if you don’t in fact need the mega traits of the Ecobee4.
Title impression from Noppanun/Bigstock, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell