The Best Smart Device for Cooling and Heating Your Home
Temperature is crucial to your home comfort, and smart technology can help you find the perfect balance—from smart thermostats to other devices and apps that help you get through the summer and winter months.
This smart technology upgrade not only provides more precise temperature control but also helps reduce energy costs, as heating and cooling are activated only when needed. These systems can be controlled remotely via apps, scheduled, and sometimes even automatically adapt to local weather conditions.
Smart thermostats
A smart thermostat is a good starting point for most people. In most cases, it’s easy to install by replacing your existing wall thermostat and connecting it to the same wiring. For example, Google has a complete guide on installing the Nest thermostat . After powering down the unit, installation typically takes 20-30 minutes, though older homes may require additional effort and wiring.
You can then control the temperature in your home both through the physical thermostat itself and through a companion app on your phone. Many smart devices also connect to one (or two) smart home platforms, which provides additional capabilities such as voice control (using an AI assistant like Alexa ) and tighter integration with all other components of your smart home.
If you already have a home full of devices compatible with Apple Home, Samsung SmartThings, or Google Home , it makes sense to invest in a matching smart thermostat. This will expand your control options (for example, through an Apple TV 4K set-top box if you’ve been using the Apple ecosystem for a while).
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can move on to more advanced features. Smart thermostat features may vary depending on the model and manufacturer, but most offer a broadly similar set of functions: the ability to schedule heating and cooling modes, remote access when you’re away from home, and intelligent adjustments based on weather, time, or sensor readings.
For example, you can set your smart thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature based on your current location (which you get from your phone), so your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system switches to energy-saving mode when you leave the office and then turns the heat back on when you return. Or perhaps you can set it to automatically adjust the temperature while you sleep, maintaining a consistently cool temperature throughout the night based on sensor readings.
In addition to the aforementioned Google Nest thermostat, there are also devices like the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium . Its features include humidity-based temperature adjustment using the included smart sensor, as well as preset heating and cooling times for periods when energy costs are minimal.
The Honeywell T5 smart thermostat is one of the most customizable devices of its kind. Information is displayed on its easy-to-use touchscreen, and you can schedule heating and cooling times up to a week in advance. The Resideo app provides easy access to all controls from your phone or tablet.
Smart Thermostat Accessories
Smart ventilation systems give you more control over how and when specific rooms are heated and cooled, whether automated or manual. For example, the Flair Smart Vent ventilation system can be controlled via a dedicated app or through a larger smart home system.
You also have smart ceiling fans —instead of turning them on and off manually, you can set them to run on a schedule or turn them on/off based on the temperature. They turn on as needed, and you might not even have to lift a finger.
With ceiling fans and some other devices (such as smart light fixtures), you can make the connected switch smart, not the device itself. So, with the Lutron Caseta smart switch , you can control your connected ceiling fan from your phone or tablet, as well as through the Amazon Alexa app and other devices. It can be automated based on time of day, temperature, and location, just like other smart devices in your home.
Air purifiers are another option worth considering, such as the Levoit Air Purifier . This Alexa-enabled device allows for control via apps and smart speakers and can remove dust and pollen from up to 1,073 square feet of air.
There are also spot heaters and cooling fans that operate independently of a smart thermostat, providing on-demand temperature control in a small space. They can be moved from room to room as needed. They often support app control and have some level of integration with other smart home devices.
Another example is the Dyson Hot+Cool HP1 air purifier , which also features air purification functions. The cooling function is inactive (it simply circulates air), but the heating function is active and can be useful year-round. It can also be controlled via an app, remote control, and buttons on the unit itself.
And the final option: smart blinds. They’re convenient for use at night, but they also help regulate the temperature in individual rooms. If a room has a true sun trap, you can set the smart blinds to block sunlight during the hottest part of the day, keeping the room relatively cool when you decide to enter.
In this case, something like the Zstarr smart motorized blinds would be a good choice. The remote control allows you to set the blinds’ raise and lower times and connect it to Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart ecosystems for interaction with other smart devices.
There are many ways to approach this, and you can add devices as needed once everything is installed. Ultimately, you’ll be able to precisely calibrate the temperature in each room using the appropriate gadgets and apps, with all devices operating according to your chosen schedule and in conjunction with one another.