Hello there, another week, another post. I have been trying to continue the routine of publishing one post a week. It has been good so far. However, there is no guarantee as we reasonably can not foresee futures. Who knows, maybe my laziness will get better of me🤷‍♂️. Anyways, welcome back to smart home misadventure. This week’s post will be about the smart thermostat I installed for my home. Let’s get started, shall we?

What is Smart Thermostat?

Well before answering the question of what a smart thermostat is, we need to know what a thermostat is? I’m sure some of you would be like, we know what a thermostat is; of course, why do you need to explain. And yes, you are right. Most western countries are familiar with thermostats because that is a typical household appliances. For others living in a different part of the globe and do not know what a thermostat is, the thermostat I am referring to is a device that regulates the temperature inside the home. Most households in western countries are familiar with thermostats due to the construction of the houses, and most of them use central heating and cooling. In my case, my house uses the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system. The thermostat is the device to keep my home at my desired temperature by controlling my HVAC system.

A smart thermostat is pretty much a regular thermostat but with smart capabilities. Such as the ability to set temperature from your phone, learn your usage pattern, and try to save you money by turning off the HVAC when you aren’t home and pre-heat/cool when you are on the way home…all the bell and whistles. In short, it is what we call “smart” 😜.

Why do I need a smart thermostat?

The question would be, why not? 🤷‍♂️I mean, it is smart, and I like smart stuff. All jokes aside, having the ability to adjust your home temperature to fit your schedule is a compelling reason. To control how your HVAC systems operate and, most of all, you save money on electricity bills by having a smart thermostat. Don’t believe me? Before getting a smart thermostat, I paid around $125 per month for my electricity bill. Since I installed the smart thermostat, my bill is around $90, which is 20-30% monthly savings. Let that sink in. Do you like saving money? Then there is no reason for you not to have a smart thermostat installed. I don’t want to hear any excuses, sure, you have to make an upfront investment for the cost of the smart thermostats, but all the savings you can get will end up paying for itself in like 6-12 months.

What Smart Thermostat did I decide to purchase?

You figured you needed a smart thermostat, but what brand to buy? I don’t have many experiences with thermostats to be able to list the criteria that I am looking for in my thermostats. And so I started to do research. I found a few smart thermostats with good reviews: Google thermostats, amazon, ecobee, and Honeywell. I’m sure these brands are well known, at least you probably have heard of them. The reason why I filtered only to include well-known brands is that they are big companies. I would trust their product quality since thermostats are essential in a home, so I don’t want mine to die in like 6 months. Plus, since they are a big company, the support would be more streamlined (I hope).

Now I am debating between Google, Amazon, and Ecobee. From the aesthetic point of view, I like their design for both Google and Amazon. However, I ended up going with Ecobee instead. Why, you ask? Well, allow me to explain.

First, Ecobee smart thermostat is very popular and has good reviews. What? Do you mean to tell me you don’t read reviews? Stop lying; I know most people make their purchase decision solely based on the product review. For something I don’t know much about, such as heating and cooling, it is a good thing to read what people have to say about their purchase. Without trying it for yourself, this is the closest thing to learning more about the product before making the purchase decision.

Second, I do like the design of the unit as well as the control. Compared to the competitor, this design is big enough to cover the holes left by the previous thermostat 😂. Plus, touch screen control is intuitive for most of us who have already experienced using a smartphone. The touch screen display was the most significant factor that put this product above the other options, as I can navigate the setting. The display shows all the information you would need. Of course, some of you might like the simplistic display, and nothing is wrong with that. It is all based on user preference. In my option, I like the design and screen of the Ecobee Smart thermostat.

Third, Ecobee packed a lot of features. It worked well and gave you a lot of control over your home heating and cooling. I’m not going to go into detail, but I like Ecobee feature sets. Compared to the 2 options from Google and Amazon, they are a lot more limited on what you can and can’t do.

Lastly is the ease of use when it comes to installation and compatibility with your existing HVAC systems. I was intimidated when buying a smart thermostat mainly because I didn’t know much about this topic. When I looked at Amazon and Google solutions, they mentioned their product might not work for some because of their compatibility. I mean, what if I purchased something only for it not to work? Then I had to waste more time researching and trying to find something that worked for my home. That is why I would instead they are compatible on the first try. Ecobee does not have this limitation, and their documentation is very detailed to work me through the installation process. It even includes the C-wire adapter for your HVAC system in case your home system is different. This put the device at the top of beginner-friendly in my option, which significantly influenced my purchase decision.

Of course, this is not without a downside. For example, the cost for this isn’t cheap as I purchased mine for $200 compared to other solutions that can go for as low as $75. My only justification(or excuses) is that I’m paying a premium for a good product that will last me a long time and save me money in the long run. I was happy with my purchase, and it saved me quite a bit of money in electricity bills.

The unboxing experience

Honestly, I do like the unboxing experience for this Ecobee smart thermostat. It does give me the premium feel (as it should, I paid a hefty price for it 😜). It came in an excellent package with plastic wrap around it.

That was it, the unboxing experience was pleasant, and the packaging was clean. I like it a lot. 🙂

In conclusion

Here is the summary

1. What is Like about it:
   • The design: it looks nice to me and is low profile. It suits my aesthetic for my living room hallway.
   • The touchscreen: the touchscreen is nice and responsive, the setting is easily accessible, and the control is pretty intuitive.
   • The features included the additional temperature sensor I can put in some other room to ensure the house is heating/cooling the way I wanted.
   • Smart: Well, this is a giving because this is a smart device, but I can control it using my phone, manual, or create a particular routine. It integrated well with my smart home.
   • The compatibility and ease of installation: This device thought of any situation where you might not be able to install, and they gave you the C-wire adapter. Plus, the installation is very straightforward. If I, who do not know much about this topic, can install my own, you should also be able to.
   • The saving: Last but not least, this saved me money 💰. Need I say more? 😉
2. What is don’t like about it:
   • The prices: You are expected to pay the premium for a premium device. $200 is reasonable, but it still hurts since I am paying 200. Though they do go on sale from time to time for around $160, so you might have better luck than I do.
   • Well, that is pretty much it. What else do you want to hear?🤷‍♂️

I am happy with this purchase, and not going to lie, I was very hesitant to purchase how much this is costing me upfront, and I don’t know anything about HVAC, so I got a little scared during the installation. I’m sure I am not alone since everyone is afraid of the unknown, and maybe that is what stops you from achieving great things. I had to push through, and following the instruction booklet to install the device was not as scary as I thought. It was pretty straightforward. I will show you how I installed this in the later part, and you will be surprised at how simple it can get.

That is all we have for this week’s post—please look forward to next week, when I will go over the installation process. Have a great week until next time.

-Laz