5 of the best smart thermostats for home comfort and energy savings

The third-generation Nest Learning Thermostat features a thinner, sleeker design with a bigger, sharper display. With the Farsight feature, Nest lights up when it sees you coming and shows you the time or temperature from across the room. Moreover, independent studies have proven that the Nest Learning Thermostat saved an average of 10-12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. According to the folks who made it, this means Nest pays for itself in two years. And with the Auto-Schedule feature, Nest learns from your habits and programs itself. Users can change the temperature from anywhere using their phone, tablet or laptop or leave Nest's sensors and algorithms up for the task.

ecobee3 Smarter Wi-Fi Thermostat

The ecobee thermostat intuitively understands when to turn on your heating or cooling equipment based on your home's unique energy profile, the weather outside, and thousands of other data points to make sure you're comfortable at all times. It senses whether anyone's home and which rooms are occupied, and saves energy and money when you're not. It saves homeowners an average of 23% annually, paying for itself in energy savings. It's enabled with support for Amazon Alexa voice control and works with Apple Homekit.

The Ecobee3 features remote sensors that deliver the right temperature in the rooms that matter most. Now homekit enabled. Ecobee3 sensors know which rooms are occupied so they deliver the right temperature in the right places. They also know whether someone's home to help you save energy and money when you're away.

Sensi Wi-Fi Programmable Thermostat

The Sensi programmable thermostat comes packed full of features. It has Remote Temperature Control, custom 7-day scheduling, temperature alerts, local weather information, automatic system configuration, A/C Protection, Secure Network and Keypad Lockout. The unit itself boasts a low profile design with a large backlit screen, auto changeover, fan control, an indoor humidity sensor, and a back-up power source.

SALUS IT500 Internet Controlled Thermostat

The IT500 controls your heating and hot water from anywhere via your smartphone or laptop. Your pc and laptop connect to the system using your existing broadband connection, which makes the system easy to install. The thermostat is wall and surface-mounted and is controlled via touch screen.

Honeywell RTH6580WF

The Honeywell Wi-Fi enabled thermostat allows for remote access via smart-phone or computer. It connects to a free smart-phone app for Android and iOS and features 7 day programming with 4 program periods per day that can be configured to meet almost any scheduling scenario. It can also be pre-programmed with an energy savings schedule, letting you save up to 33% on energy bills. It has a system for intelligent alerts, such as high/low temperature notifications of unusual temperature swings and loss of connection to Wi-Fi. There's also the ability to view local weather from a web portal or an app.