Keeping the home comfortable is top priority for most people. In the past, if your house is too cold or too hot, you either put up with it or you spend a lot of money. Thankfully, there are now smart thermostats that can keep temperatures just right while also helping you save.
Two of the best smart thermostats available now are Tado Smart Thermostat and Nest Learning Thermostat.
Tado Smart Thermostat
The Tado Smart Thermostat can help cut your heating bills while still making sure that it is not too hot or too cold at home. It learns your behavior and considers other factors to ensure utmost comfort for you and your family.
Features
By replacing your current thermostat with the Tado Smart Thermostat, you get to enjoy:
- More visibility and control. You now have the option to view the temperatures in different rooms on the Tado Smart Thermostat itself, or via the mobile app. Not only that, you can also manually adjust the temperature according to your preferences, no matter where you are.
- Geofencing capabilities. You really do not have to remember to turn down the heat when you are leaving the house, nor should you come home to an uncomfortably cold house. The Tado Smart Thermostat has geofencing capabilities that use your smartphone’s GPS location to know when you are on your way home, which then prompts the thermostat to turn up the heat so you arrive to a warm and cozy home, just the way you like it. It will also adjust the heat to save you money if it detects that you have left the house.
- Another way to control the temperature around your house is by setting detailed schedules, wherein you have to manually specify different temperatures throughout the day.
- Temperature that adjusts to the weather. The Tado Smart Thermostat will check your area’s weather forecasts to determine how to adjust your temperature for more savings. If the forecast is for sunny skies, then it will turn down the heating. This effectively saves you more money.
- Temperature adjustments according to your home’s unique characteristics. Each house is different. Some houses cool down or warm up faster than others. The Tado Smart Thermostat will consider these to help it adjust the heating at the right time. For instance, if you live in a house that takes a while to cool down as the day turns into night, the Tado Smart Thermostat will know this and will turn up the heat little later after sundown.
- Insights and details. Tado Smart Thermostat provides you with detailed reports of your heating activities, which also give you a realistic view of how much energy your heating systems are using up.
- Heating system monitoring. The Tado Smart Thermostat can also alert you if there are problems with your heating systems. It can also provide tips and alerts on how to keep your systems running without hitches.
- Savings of up to 31%. All of these features can help make your home more energy-efficient, enough to cut your heating bill by as much as 31%!
- Tado apps. You can control your Tado Smart Thermostat using its Android app, Windows Phone app, iOS app, or Web-based app.
Design
The Tado Smart Thermostat consists of the thermostat unit itself and the Internet bridge. The 0.29-lb smart thermostat measures 4.1 square inches and 0.75 inches deep. The bridge measures 3.2 inches high, 1.1 inches wide, and 0.87 inches deep, and it weighs 0.13 lbs.
The smart thermostat features a 10 x 19 LED matrix, as well as two physical buttons. The Tado Smart Thermostat follows a minimalist design and, unlike other smart thermostats, it quietly blends in with your walls.
Integrations
The Tado Smart Thermostat works with IFTTT recipes, allowing you to use it with other connected devices. You can even let it post to your Facebook account or send you an e-mail!
It also works with Apple HomeKit and you can use Siri to control your smart thermometer. Speaking of voice control, it also works with Amazon Alexa devices and Google Assistant.
What else should you know about the Tado Smart Thermostat
Tado Smart Thermostat transmits data over the Internet using bank-grade encryption and security. It also uses its own algorithms to optimize your
energy use.
What’s more, the Tado Smart Thermostat relies on auto updates to ensure that you get the best and the latest features for both your smart thermostat and mobile app.
The smart thermostat is also compatible with 95% of the current heating systems, so you can probably retrofit what you already have. If you have several thermostats in your home, you can control different zones separately
or altogether.
What you would like about the Tado Smart Thermostat
The Tado Smart Thermostat allows you to ask Alexa, Google, or Siri to turn down the heat in the bedroom, even if you are in a different part of the house. You can also control the temperature even while you are away.
The fact that there are several ways for you to interact with the Tado makes it one of the most flexible smart thermostats in the market today. The understated design is also great if you do not want to draw attention to your thermostat.
Moreover, the geofencing feature allows you to forget all about your air conditioning when you leave the house or when you come back. Furthermore, the savings and the comfort are what makes the Tado Smart Thermostat a real winner for its users.
Nest Learning Thermostat
The Nest Learning Thermostat does not really need a lengthy introduction. This is the product that paved the way for other smart thermostats in the market today. It promises to learn your behavior in order to adjust the temperature without you even thinking about it.
Nest Learning Thermostat will need you to use it actively for a week, and it will program itself. No more trying to figure out the best schedules. Nest will do all the thinking for you. Of course, if you want to adjust the temperature already set by the Nest, you can easily do so on the thermostat itself or through the mobile app.
Design
One of the first things that you would notice about the Nest Learning Thermostat is its eye-catching design. The round smart thermostat has a 3.3-inch diameter and a thickness of 1.21 inches. It has a 2.08-inch color LCD screen that gives you a display resolution of 480 x 480.
Features
Nest shares many of Tado Smart Thermostat’s features. It has its own learning algorithms, geofencing capabilities, and others.
Farsight. The Nest Learning Thermostat will instantly light up when it senses that you are in the room, even if you are far away from the unit itself. This will allow you to easily see the current temperature without having to get close to the device.
Nest Sense. The Nest Sense will learn about your house, how long it takes to cool or warm up, whether there are air drafts, or what the weather is like outside. The Nest Sense will then use what it learns and, with the help of a proprietary algorithm, figure out how to set your temperature for maximum savings and comfort.
Mobile app. The mobile app serves as another way to interact with Nest. You can use it to check and adjust current temperatures around your house.
While you really do not need to schedule your Nest, it provides you with that option; the mobile app allows you to set different temperatures for different times of the day, seven days a week. The mobile app also allows you to share access with family members and play with some nifty advanced fan controls.
Furthermore, the app gives you safety alerts when your house gets too cold or too hot, along with actionable tips. You can also get maintenance alerts and even be warned if there are potential issues with your heating system before it becomes a big problem.
Integrations
Nest works with other connected devices under the “Works with Nest” program, including LIFX bulbs, Wemo switches, Google Home, Rachio sprinkler controller, Skybell HD doorbell, Lutron Caseta, and others.
It also works with Amazon Alexa speakers, IFTTT recipes, Google Assistant, and a number of home automation platforms.
Nest Learning Thermostat vs. Tado Smart Thermostat
Tado Smart Thermostat and Nest Learning Thermostat are constantly compared because of the learning feature they share. Tado is probably one of the very few smart thermostats out there that could give you an alternative to Nest’s learning algorithms, something that even the Ecobee 4 cannot do.
Both smart thermostats work similarly. Aside from the learning algorithm, you can create your own schedules and check weather reports.
So where does the Tado Smart Thermostat win over the Nest Learning Thermostat? If you want to control your radiator, you can buy the optional radiator control valve for your Tado.
This feature is not supported by Nest. Also, Nest reports that the average savings you get from it range from $131 to $145, while Tado estimates savings of up to $260 a year.
On the other hand, Nest is around $50 cheaper than Tado, and it works with more home automation platforms and connected devices. Further, if you want to control hot water around the house, Nest wins because you do not need to buy anything else to do this.
With Tado, you would need to purchase the optional extension kit, which costs more than $100 (For the latest prices and discounts, check here).
However, what really sets the Nest Learning Thermostat above the Tado is its looks. Tado is not exactly bad-looking, but Nest has been turning heads since its first-generation models came out.
Side by side comparison
| Nest 3 | Tado 3 | |
| Price | (For the latest prices and discounts, check here) | (For the latest prices and discounts, check here) |
| Learning | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Checks weather reports | Yes | Yes |
| Geofencing | Yes | Yes |
| Hot Water Control | Yes | Requires extension kit |
| Radiator Control | No | Requires Valves |
| Smartphone App | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon Echo | Yes | Yes |
| IFTTT | Yes | Yes |
| Frost Protection | Yes | Yes |
| Self Install | Yes | Yes |
Leave a Reply