Smart thermostats and wi-fi | Best of November 2020

Winter is coming and it is time to update all those appliances and systems that heat our homes, allowing us to better experience the coldest period of the year. Among more or less technological equipment, thermostats and chronothermostats over time have become much more than a simple tool capable of activating the heating system below a temperature threshold or at a certain time. In fact, with new technologies, in particular thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), it has become a smart device capable of guaranteeing greater efficiency in consumption, many more features as well as the ability to control it remotely comfortably, from your smartphone or computer. , while guaranteeing simplicity and immediacy of use.

The fundamental characteristic of a smart thermostat is connectivity. These devices, once set up, will connect to your home Wi-Fi network with the aim of providing many more services; first of all the weather forecast for your city. With these they will develop a heating plan for your home, adapting its use to humidity, temperature and other parameters.

Read also: The best digital and infrared thermometers To further increase their potential there is also the so-called geofencing: once synchronized with your smartphone, the thermostat will manage the temperature of the house not only based on the time, an element that is traditionally found in all thermostats, but also thanks to your distance from home. In other words, the thermostat will maintain a higher temperature in the house if you are in the perimeter or in the surrounding areas and it will keep it lower when you are outside your home; this reduces the energy consumption of your system based on your not only planned, but also unforeseen needs.

For the most advanced products, artificial intelligence is also exploited: the thermostat will learn the average temperature trend of the house and based on the external weather conditions and your daily habits and consequently adapt the shutdown and the ignition of the heating. With these latest technologies, the thermostat becomes what we could metaphorically define as an organ of the house, able to adapt in unique ways, house by house and guaranteeing, if properly exploited, a strong saving on utilities. Ready for a life of lower bills and warmer homes?

The best smart thermostats and wi-fi

Nest Learning (3rd generation) Netatmo NTH01-EN-EC BTicino Smarter SX8000 and SX8000W Tado V3 + Honeywell Lyric T6

Nest Learning (3rd generation)

Acquired by Google in 2014, Nest is a guarantee of quality for home automation devices. Among these is the Nest Learning Thermostat; now in its third generation, it is among the best thermostats you can install in your homes. The strong point of this product is the self-learning: once synchronized with your smartphone, in a few days the thermostat will learn your habits and will know your home, consequently optimizing the system on and off times to guarantee the temperatures. desired with minimum consumption. Despite being compatible with the vast majority of systems, Google dispels any doubts with a short and simple questionnaire available on its official website about your system. In terms of control, you can manage it with your smartphone, handling it directly or using the Google Assistant. Unfortunately it is not yet compatible with other voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri, but if you are making your home smart using the products of the big G it is absolutely not a problem.

»Click here to buy the Nest Learning thermostat ( 3rd generation)

Netatmo NTH01-EN-EC

Netatmo is a leading company in the home automation sector and its thermostat NTH01-IT-EC is undoubtedly one of the best on the market . Characterized by a particularly simple design, this thermostat compatible with gas, wood, oil boilers and with both home automation and traditional heat pumps will make all owners of Apple devices happy thanks to the possibility of managing it remotely using the Apple HomeKit application or via the voice assistant Siri and Alexa. It is also possible to synchronize it with Netatmo thermostatic valves: characterized by a design similar to the thermostat, once synchronized these valves allow even more precise management of the house temperatures; it will in fact be possible to set the temperature and the behavior that the heating system must have room by room. Finally, the self-adaptive technology adapts the behavior of the system to the environmental conditions and to our behavior, leading to significant savings in the bill.

»Click here to buy the Netatmo thermostat NTH01-IT-EC

BTicino SX8000 Smarther and BTicino SX8000W

Our roundup of the best wi-fi and smart thermostats continues with two products made by BTicino. The two products differ only in their assembly, the SX8000 model is in fact the built-in model, while the SX8000W is wall mounted. Going into more detail, these two thermostats differ from the others in the ranking in terms of functions; they do not have self-learning technologies or technologies based on artificial intelligence, with this product you can "only" set the switching on and off of the thermostat based on the time, the temperature of the house and based on your geolocation. But to make this product unique and worthy of this ranking there is the boost mode: activating it, the thermostat will bring your heating system to maximum capacity, guaranteeing dear home warmth in the shortest possible time. To assist and manage all these features, there is the dedicated Home + Control application, available for Android and iOS, which will allow you to make the most of the potential of this product. Finally, compatibility with Alexa, Google assistant and Siri make it the ideal thermostat for anyone who has not yet chosen (or plans to change) their voice assistant.

»Click here to buy the BTicino SX8000 thermostat

»Click here to buy the BTicino SX8000W thermostat

Tado V3 +

Compatible with all voice assistants, equipped with an extremely simple and intuitive application and with an artificial intelligence between the best ever, the Tado V3 + thermostat is the perfect product for anyone who wants a powerful and highly customizable solution. Alongside this thermostat, Tado has in fact also produced a series of smart thermostatic valves that allow V3 + to manage every room in your home in a personalized way and optimize the heating plan of your home down to the smallest detail. Not only that, thanks to its humidity detectors, Tado V3 + is able to detect if a window is open, adapt its operation to the weather and over time it will learn the structure of your home, which allows it to improve consumption even more. By purchasing this thermostat you will take your home into the future, and considering that it is not necessary to attach it to the wall or recess it, it is perfect for those who want a smart home but do not intend to carry out interventions too invasive to have it.

»Click here to buy the Tado V3 + thermostat

Honeywell Lyric T6

Manufactured by one of the leading companies in the field of thermostats, Honeywell Lyric T6 is a seemingly very simple product, but it hides within itself enormous potential. Compatible with all the most popular voice assistants and with Apple HomeKit, its proprietary Lyric application, available for Android and iOS, is simple and immediate and will allow you to manage the system's switch-on times, the temperature of the house and much more in any whenever and wherever you are. The potential of this thermostat also goes through the simplicity of installation, very similar to the old thermostats, the very large display, perfect for those who have difficulty reading, and also the fact that it is Honeywell: with over 100 years of history behind it, the company has one of the densest assistance networks you can find, as well as a wide range of home automation products to complement your thermostat. Whether you have a problem or want to make your home smarter you will find a Honeywell dealer near your home.

»Click here to buy the Honeywell Lyric T6 thermostat

Smart thermostats, what examine for a good purchase

Although thermostats were born simply to manage the switching on and off of the heating for us, we have seen how advanced they are today and how many functions they can offer. For this reason it is appropriate to focus on some notable characteristics of the products that can be decisive for the choice of your next smart thermostat; not all functions may serve you and buying the one that best reflects the use you want to make of it will not only simplify your use, but may also make you opt for a cheaper model with fewer specific features.

Compatibility with the heating system

Just like thermostats, not all heating systems are the same. From the oldest centralized systems, to the most modern based on home automation and already prepared for smart use, not all thermostats are compatible, we therefore recommend that you inform yourself adequately about the compliance of the system with your choice; the most obvious example of incompatibility is with some old centralized and condominium heating systems: in this case the thermostat cannot manage the heating on and off in total autonomy, thus leading to inefficiency and malfunctions in the behavior of the heating. In these situations, the thermostatic valves could solve part of your problems, but we suggest that before making any purchase, you should be adequately informed about the system and thermostat, either through personal training or through a professional installer.

Compatibility with voice assistants and smartphone operating systems

Not all thermostats have dedicated applications for some operating systems, and others do not have integration with voice assistants such as Alexa or the Google Assistant. Buying a product without these functions, or not compatible, does not affect the basic operation of the thermostat (unless you want to use geofencing mechanisms for temperature management), but it could reserve some disappointments.

Programmability

A thermostat can activate the heating based on the day of the week, the time, the temperature of the house or using geofencing. These parameters can be combined with each other, they can be more or less optimized and sometimes some can be completely absent; for this reason we suggest that you carefully analyze how the thermostat you are purchasing is programmable in order to be aware that the features offered meet your needs in the most appropriate way.

Accessories included and compatibility with others devices

The thermostat is no longer a simple box attached to a wall; today it is a device capable of communicating in different ways with many devices and some companies offer devices compatible with the thermostats they produce to further increase its capacity. We are talking about thermostatic valves, switches of various kinds, or temperature controllers. Specific products each designed for different purposes: it is also important to analyze these products at the time of purchase; whether to buy them now, or to improve or expand your heating system in the future.