While I like the look of the Tado thermostat and would like to control individual radiator valves from my phone, the accessibility of the Nest and the intuitive nature of the physical interface made it by far the best choice for me. If I wasn’t caring for my sight-impaired elderly mother I’d have other options but the connection between the thermostat and carbon monoxide detector would still make Nest a pretty compelling choice, I think. That it doesn’t work with HomeKit is a non issue for me. Although I do sometimes use Siri to switch lights on and off, I’m not sure I’d ever really use it for heating (most of my interaction with the thermostat is to switch it on or off remotely) and it’s certainly no hassle to use the Nest app.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Home WiFi thermostats
- Thread starter Texas26257
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you want HomeKit compatible, go with Ecobee - it's a piece of cake to set up and you can get the lite for a pretty decent price. My friend has a Nest installed in her business (spin studio) and she is happy with it too, but she does have to reset it often. We've had our Ecobee for over a year now and it is awesome. We don't really experience a lot of temp fluctuations so I haven't put up sensors anywhere in the house. It was also important for me to be able to use the HomePod to regulate temperature once it came out.
I tried setting up an Ecobee 3 Lite for my mom recently and it was not intuitive AT ALL. The installation was fine, but setting up the smart features was not. I had to dig around in the app for about 30 minutes before I could find out how to configure geo-fencing, and then it said that required an AppleTV. WTF?! It went back to the store because I wasn't about to tell my mom that she needed to spend another $150 for a device she doesn't particularly need. I installed a Nest E instead and she's very happy with it so far.
For security Apple uses their own protocol to communicate to devices. An AppleTV, HomePod or iPad is required to communicate to your devices when your iOS device is off network. Keep in mind many HomeKit devices are bluetooth, something your (her) wifi network is incapable of.
I get that. But there are plenty of devices that implement geo-fencing without HomeKit. Hell, even Ecobee did it before they added HomeKit.
I went with the Ecobee 3 Lite (versus the 4) specifically because it doesn't have Alexa on board.
I got mine on sale with a pair of room sensors. Compared to the Nest, in both looks, ease of use, and security (because Nest is like a boat made of fishnet), the Ecobee wins hands down.
I've never specifically set up geofencing, but somehow (I'm guessing via the room sensors or HomeKit detecting my phone back on my WiFi) it always either starts the furnace as I arrive home from work, or is already at my At Home temperature.
Installation was a breeze, just take your time and follow the instructions to the letter. It also helps if your actual furnace is easily accessed and isn't a rats nest of wiring.
I got mine on sale with a pair of room sensors. Compared to the Nest, in both looks, ease of use, and security (because Nest is like a boat made of fishnet), the Ecobee wins hands down.
I've never specifically set up geofencing, but somehow (I'm guessing via the room sensors or HomeKit detecting my phone back on my WiFi) it always either starts the furnace as I arrive home from work, or is already at my At Home temperature.
Installation was a breeze, just take your time and follow the instructions to the letter. It also helps if your actual furnace is easily accessed and isn't a rats nest of wiring.
I went with the NEST as I liked the design and size of it and it fit well with my NEST smoke detector. Homekit doesn't matter to me at all. It replaced an older programmable thermostat, so my cost savings are minimal. I picked it up mostly for style.
It was super easy to set up and does the job well. I'm also a fan that it can be set to display the outdoor temperature based off your location.
Might just be local to me but my local Home Depot has the Ecobee3 for 150 on sale. Not the lite version but the full version that supports IAQ products (humidifiers, dehumidifiers, etc) with 2 sensors. That’s 30 less than I paid for the Lite. The sensors alone are around 60-80 bucks.
I like Nest (especially their cameras) but HomeKit is an unfortunate requirement for me.
My Ecobee Lite has been virtually flawless and with geofencing plus my odd schedule has already paid for itself in less than a year.
I like Nest (especially their cameras) but HomeKit is an unfortunate requirement for me.
My Ecobee Lite has been virtually flawless and with geofencing plus my odd schedule has already paid for itself in less than a year.
Interestingly, just today Nest announced that they're going to start selling temperature sensors that will work with their thermestats.
https://nest.com/thermostats/nest-temperature-sensor/overview/
https://nest.com/thermostats/nest-temperature-sensor/overview/
I’m not sure I understand those Nest temperature sensors. They don’t seem to be connected to radiator valves so as far as I can see they can’t do things like cut the heat in bedrooms in the day while keeping the sitting room warm. That’s what would make the difference to me.
I rather like the Honeywell lyric I use... inexpensive, easy to set up and use... can operate it from my phone... have not looked into home kit compatibility yet... but it has all the other things I need and use. It includes geofencing capability and scheduling. Best of all, Honeywell sends me air conditioner usage analysis every month showing how I fared next to previous month... free data is pretty cool. Can set and control air conditioning from work. Easy to read, and it’s squared shape fits better with my house shapes and design, as well as my taste in appearance. It’s not for everyone, but can be had at a decent price and in my case, purchased locally.
I have loved my ecobee so far I have not bought the sensors yet wonder how well they actually work
I've had nothing but problems with my Ecobee4 and I'm not alone based on the support pages on apple as well as Ecobee themselves. The thermostat disconnects from HomeKit more often then it's connected. Ecobee's solution is to delete HomeKit, pull it off the wall, wait 5 min and then set it up again. It might stay connected for 1-2 days and then it's gone. My wife has even commented on why I don't just put the Nest back on the wall since she's tired of me messing with this thing every time she turns around. Which I very well might considering Nest just released their own room sensors, which I found the best trait of the Ecobee.
I am getting a new AC/Gas Pack unit installed tomorrow, and the installer is putting in a Honeywell Lyric T6 Pro. I just got a HomePod yesterday, so I am hoping this combo woks out well. I'll update tomorrow after the install is done and I can try adding the Thermostat to the Home app....
The sensors work quite well at my place. They balance the temperature of the house nicely. For example, my office tends to be 1-2 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. When I walk into that room, it takes only a few seconds before the heat turns on to make the office as warm as the rest of the house. Weirdly, despite forced air, the other rooms don't get much warmer if at all.
The Lyric T6 Pro is just a T5 in a white case, from what I understood, the "PRO" part means they sell them to contractors and are not packaged as retail units. Otherwise I could find NO difference between it and my T5... I have too many iPhones running around my house for the sensors of the ECOBEE or Nest units... my A/C unit would die from trying to keep everyone happy in every room. And, of course I'd never be comfortable and it's My house and house payment...
Well, I had my new unit installed and got the Lyric set up. Everything works well so far (only 6 hrs since they finished) and the HomeKit integration seems to be working great. Happy Camper, except for the $6k bill for the unit 
Well, I had my new unit installed and got the Lyric set up. Everything works well so far (only 6 hrs since they finished) and the HomeKit integration seems to be working great. Happy Camper, except for the $6k bill for the unit
Well... There is that. I'm very satisfied with my Lyric and it's abilities. You'll love it once you set up Geofencing and make it adjust to make it comfy before you get home, while maintaining a warmer temp in summer to save bucks for the 10 hours you're not home (if you work a day job like a lot of us do). Since people are at home all day most days, I don't mess with it, but when we all "road trip" I set it up to conserve and comfort by the time we get home.
Alexa is fine. According to ecobee this has to do with devices picking up 2.4 and 5ghz Wifi. If your apple TV is on 5ghz and the ecobee is on 2.4ghz, homekit won't work.