Getting started on a smart-home doesn’t have to be all flare. In fact, many smart-home product offerings help conserve energy saving users loads of money through the long hall of home ownership. Thermostats are one of the best examples of these types of products. Smart thermostats offer comfort, ease of use and efficiency features that can help users control or automate their home environment to their liking while saving money by dialing things back when there are no occupants. Below we will list our top three suggestions for thermostats to by for your loved one as a gift this holiday season.

Nest Learning Thermostat

Probably the most popular smart thermostat on the market the Nest Learning Thermostat boasts remote access, voice control, advance scheduling and much more.  After taking on the thermostat industry Nest has grown its product offerings by entering segments such as cameras and security.  What we love the most about the Nest Learning Thermostat is just that, it learns from your input.  After installation, which is super easy, just turn the dial to your desired comfort level.  After a very short time, Nest learns your patterns and adjusts as needed.  For instance, while you are at work Nest will notice this and cut back your thermostat to a level where you will conserve energy.  Let’s say though that you get home from work every day 5:30pm and the Nest has learned that it is going to take 1.5 hours to get back to your desired temperature, the Nest will automatically set itself to be your perfect comfort level by the time you walk in the door. Pretty neat huh?  The Nest Thermostat is a cool sleek design that will wow your guests for sure, but knowing that it will also save you money over time is truly a gift that keeps giving. Unfortunately, Nest works with most other platforms out there but fair warning if your an Apple person, HomeKit support has yet to materialize.

Ecobee3 Lite

Like the Nest, the Ecobee3 Lite has some fancy features for sure. Its claim to fame however is the ability to purchase small remote room sensors that can be placed around the house to give a better and more accurate temperature read out.  Have you ever been laying in bed sweating because its so hot but when you walk out to where the thermostat it is cool.  Remote sensors will use a triangulation of the temperature readings to adjust the thermostate as needed for the whole house, not just the thermostat in the hallway by the front door. Better yet, Ecobee works with all the major smart-home platforms including Apple Homekit, Google Home and Amazon Alexa, all with a price tag much lower than its close competitors.

Ecobee4

Speaking of smart-home platforms, Ecobee takes it a step furter with its top of the line product offering the Ecobee4 by baking Alexa support right in.  The Ecobee4 offers the same features as the Ecobee3 Lite, including the ability to have remote sensors, remote access and other voice control, but now you can even ask your thermostat about the weather, news, or for some crazy fun facts as your sip your coffee in the morning. The Ecobee4 comes with one remote sensor and more can be purchased and added to your Ecobee Eco-system.