Modern thermostats or “smart“ thermostats, are very popular today, and for good reason. Smart thermostats offer consumers more automated management and higher potential savings than what traditional thermostats have done in the past. So if you have decided that it is time to change your current traditional thermostat in your home for something newer and more inspiring, or perhaps you just want to optimize your energy usage, then one of the cheapest and most efficient way to do that is by using a smart thermostat.
In this review, you are going to find out more about some of the benefits that you could get from making use of a smart thermostat and let you know why this new technology may be appropriate for you.
Each of these three best selling smart thermostats currently available has its own advantages and disadvantages, so take a moment to read this review and determine which one is the better choice for your needs.
Nest Smart Thermostat 1st generation T100577
As you may know, the Nest is one of the several popular and trusted brand for producing a wide range of products – including home thermostats. The Nest launched the smart thermostat to the U.S. market in 2011 with the Nest 1st generation T100577 Learning Thermostat, followed by the Nest 2nd generation T200577 Learning Thermostat in 2012. And three years later – in October 2015, the Nest has launched the latest and most impressive version of the Nest Learning Thermostat—the 3rd generation of the company’s smart energy management home device.
The version T100577, works with a wider array of low voltage heating and cooling systems, is compatible with 75% of them. It can control 1 and 2 stages heating and 1 stage cooling.
It’s got a slimmer design and smarter software to make it compatible with most homes in the U.S. The Nest is way cooler than standard programmable thermostats because it will learn your preferred temperature settings. How does it help? The answer is simple.
The unique features which differs the Nest from the other traditional programmable thermostats is its design of simplicity and ability to learn your preferred temperature settings. It is a highly advanced programmable thermostat that can be programmed to change the temperature in the house itself, or can be remotely accessed from anywhere on the Internet via a computer, smart phone, or tablet device.
The big advantage and most impressive feature of the Nest 1st generation T100577 thermostat is its Auto Schedule, which learns not just your schedule, but knows what temperature you want and automatically adjust itself to the temperature that is based on your household`s weekly behaviors and choices. For example, every time the Nest Learning Thermostat remember your temperatures requirements when you adjust it, and within a week, the Nest 1st generation thermostat will organize all the information it has “learned” into a schedule for your space.
Another standout feature is the Auto Away function that uses motion sensors to determine when the house is empty so when nobody is home the thermostat automatically shuts the systems down and lowers the required temperature accordingly. At this time, while you’re out it enters into energy saving mode that saves energy and money.
Additionally with feature such as Energy History, you can look back and figure out exactly when and for how long your heating or cooling system was switched on and off, and whether your energy consumption increased or decreased compared to past few days. It tells you whether you’ve saved energy from temperature changes, Auto Away or depending on weather conditions at the time. With the help of this information, household`s are enabled to make some small adjustments to a standard schedule and that can make a huge difference in your family budget.
Nest Smart Thermostat 2nd generation T200577
In 2012, the Nest 2nd generation model T200577 Learning Thermostat was announced. At first glance, the new Nest smart thermostat 2nd generation looks and performs exactly the same as the previous model with the difference of the improved version of the software update.
The fundamental feature of the new software upgrade is special modes of operation of different types of heating and cooling systems, and each type comes with custom features that optimize the energy efficiency of that system.
What is special about the newest model of Nest is that it is compatible with 95 percent of low voltage heating and cooling systems in the United States and Canada compared to the previous version`s 75 percent compatibility, which did not support many high end air conditioner systems.
The Nest 2nd generation model T200577 works with most home heating and cooling systems, a new connector makes it easy to interact with some very unusual ones. It has more wires and extra connectors so that it now supports two stage cooling and dual fuel systems, including two stage cooling, three stage heating, dual fuel, emergency heat for heat pumps, as well as whole home humidifiers and dehumidifiers.
The major features of the new Nest 2nd generation thermostat include the following:
The most impressive new feature on the new Nest 2nd generation is the System Match, which allow the Nest to determine what kind of HVAC system the thermostat is linked to and understand how long it takes for the system to heat or cool a home. So once the thermostat learns that in less than a week, it will turn on or off automatically heating or cooling system further in advance of your scheduled time so that you have desired temperature at the programmed time.
Just like the original version Nest, the Nest 2nd generation comes with Auto Away feature, in this release, existing functionality of the software algorithms have been improved. The older software waited 90 minutes before shutting down the system; the new Nest version will activate its Auto Away energy saving mode when it doesn’t detect any activity for 30 minutes and adjusts the temperature accordingly. This is a great way to avoid heating or cooling an empty house when nobody’s home.
Besides, now the new Nest model adds new features like Auto Schedule, which remembers what temperatures you like when you’re in heat/cool Range Mode, and creates a personalized schedule based on the temperature changes you’ve made manually all week, and adapts to your life in the future.
The unit comes with another exclusive cost saving feature called Air Wave technology, which can help homeowners dramatically reduce energy used needed to cool their house to a desired temperature. Air Wave controls air conditioner and senses the humidity in the home turning automatically A/C unit off earlier, keeping the fan running, to further enhance their savings.
Best feature I think is the new Heat Pump Balance feature. It monitors how well your heat pump is working, the current weather, and the weather forecast. It uses this info to minimizes how often you use expensive auxiliary heat and predict how to best use it. It also has a filter replacement reminder function that remind you when it is the time to change the filter.
Next up is Advanced Fan Control. This new feature lets the Nest to control fans separate from the heating and cooling, so owners have more control with the ability to set the fan to run throughout the night to bring in cool air or at intermittent times during the day to keep the air fresh, ideal for summer months. All these features will ensure that they have the perfect room temperature and a good circulation of air in the house.
Honeywell Smart Thermostat RTH9580WF
Another smart thermostat that deserves your consideration is Honeywell Smart Thermostat RTH9580WF. It is the latest programmable thermostat of Honeywell in the RTH series.
This model of Honeywell is designed to be the simplest, most feature packed, and powerful thermostats you can have. The new larger, color touchscreen and simplified programming and operation of the RTH9580WF makes this model one of the easiest to use on the market.
Compatible with most 24V heating and cooling systems, including most forced-air, hydronic, heat-pump, oil, gas and electric systems. Not compatible with millivolt systems, such as gas fireplaces, or 120V/240V systems, such as electric baseboard heat.
Every single Honeywell thermostat comes with its very own and unique features. The Honeywell RTH9580WF also provides some additional features.
First up is one extremely welcome addition its ability to controls devices such as humidifiers and dehumidifiers wirelessly, like only very few thermostats can do it. Along with that, there is also the advanced fan control settings. This feature is designed to turns the fan on and off only as necessary to maintain the air fresh and clean. In addition the Honeywell RTH9580WF Smart Thermostat does allow you to schedule fan mode. For example, it can be programmed to only circulate the air during certain time periods. As a result, you can save energy.
Perhaps the most important advantage in the creation of all Honeywell models is that they have energy saving features that will help to save more than thirty percent on the usual yearly costs both from cooling and heating equipments.
And as with all Honeywell thermostats, the Honeywell RTH9580WF have a built-in ‘smart response’ function, that actually provides the thermostat with the information that allows it to determine the required time it takes for the system to heat/cool the home, in order to reach the set temperature at the specified time. This is a very helpful way to go about things because the time needed to cool or heat a house varies according to the season. For example, If you don’t have ‘smart response technology’ you will have to guess beforehand, in which time to set the thermostat to start the HVAC equipment.
You have the option to lock the thermostat’s keys or touch screen to prevent it from unwanted settings changes. Besides, the Honeywell RTH9580WF thermostat have the hold function. This function would be used to hold permanent or temporary a set temperature for a specific period of time with a simple button press, without altering all your daily settings. After the hold duration, the thermostat will revert back to its normal set program.
Also another handy smart thermostat function is the Vacation Hold Mode, that allows you to set one temperature for a certain amount of days while you will be away from the home (like when on vacation). After the timer has run down, the thermostat automatically will resume running its normally scheduled programs.
There is also another handy feature that gives you the weather forecast for the next five days, plus indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity.
If you are planning about purchasing a new smart thermostat for your home either one of these three smart models or any other such programmable thermostats, you can only win by saving money on utility bills every month, and of course enjoying more comfort in your home all year round and helps the environment through energy savings.
The major differences between those three smart thermostat models are the following:
Comparing between the first and second generation thermostats, the Nest 1st generation model is not compatible with as many HVAC systems as opposed to the Nest 2nd generation, which has two more connectors.
On the other hand, the two downsides to purchasing the Nest 2nd generation are: first it is little more expensive than the Nest 1st generation because comes with much more features and benefits such as Auto Schedule, Auto Away, and Auto Tune. Secondly it is recommended to be installed by a PRO.
One of the unique and standout feature on Honeywell RTH9580WF Smart Thermostat as with all Honeywell programmable thermostats is undoubtably their really high level of accuracy (+/-1 degrees F), especially when compared to most other standard thermostats. Its capability to switch between heating and cooling automatically makes it a highly reliable controller that can maintain consistent temperature of your house is just as you want it.
The most noticeable disadvantage about the Honeywell RTH9580WF is that it needs a ‘C’ or ‘common’ wire in order to be powered, while the Nest Thermostat doesn’t require a ‘C’ wire in most houses. The Honeywell RTH9580WF doesn’t have a Auto Away sensor that can detect if someone is at home or not.
If you consider Nest pricing is a little high for you, then you can choose the Honeywell RTH9580WF the almost equivalent of the Nest thermostat models. Like the Nest, the Honeywell thermostat functions so much like a regular digital thermostat that you shouldn’t experience too much of a learning curve when you want to use it on your wall.
Smart thermostats are just what you need to reduce household energy consumption. If you are searching for a new smart home thermostat for your home that can provide you with increased comfort, then you cannot go wrong with any of the models listed here. And third thermostats are definitely worth checking out since they are considered as one of the best quality and reliable smart thermostats on the market.
With a high quality programmable thermostat, your family will notice the difference within a very short time and will ensure the decrease of your home’s energy use and saving you money at the same time. Overall, investing in a smart thermostat is a wise move. So if you need it, buy it and you won’t be disappointed. On the whole, this is definitely one of those useful investments, for which you will not regret you spent your money on, especially if you’re trying to make your life easier.
Where to Buy best Smart Thermostat Online for the Lowest price?
So, to reach a final decision regarding the three different solutions, you just have to visit the most trusted online brand as you click on the relevant link below:
If you’re interested in learning more about the Nest Smart Thermostat 1st generation Click HERE
If you’re intend to buy the Nest Smart Thermostat 2nd generation Click HERE
If you’re interested to know what other people think about the Honeywell Smart Thermostat RTH9580WF Click HERE
and spare a few minutes to read some reviews from real customers that have purchased these products. This will surely help you to choose which is the most appropriate and best smart thermostat for you and your household needs before you buy.