High-end smart thermostats from the likes of Ecobee and Nest can be very expensive, and some of the features you’re paying–housings wrought from exotic metals, and glass touchscreen displays–deliver more in aesthetics than they do in energy savings. If you need something more basic–and more affordable–you can’t go wrong with the Amazon Smart Thermostat. In fact, it’s our top pick in budget-priced smart thermostats–and Amazon is selling it for just $42 during its October Prime Day sale.
Like its more expensive competitors, the Amazon Smart Thermostat will learn your comings and goings over time, so that it won’t heat or cool your home when no one is home. It’s made of primarily of plastic, and it doesn’t have an onboard motion sensor or remote temperature/occupancy sensors that can help eliminate hot and cold spots. On the other hand, you’re not paying for those advanced features. And if you live in a smaller home, remote sensors might not deliver a lot of benefits anyway.
But you needn’t worry that this inexpensive smart thermostat is cheap. Amazon partnered with Resideo–the Honeywell spin-off that markets smart home products under the Honeywell Home brand. Few companies know more about residential HVAC than Resideo.
You will want to be aware, however, that the Amazon Smart Thermostat only works in the Alexa smart home ecosystem; you can’t tie it to Google Assistant or Apple’s HomeKit environment.
Author: Michael Brown, Executive Editor
Michael is TechHive's lead editor, with 30+ years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the smart home, home audio, and home theater. He built his own smart home in 2007 and used it as a real-world test lab for product reviews. Following a relocation to the Pacific Northwest, he is now converting his new home, an 1890 Victorian bungalow, into a modern smart home.