The electric company here, Duke Energy, is offering the Google Nest thermostat for $50 off. Does anyone have one of these, do you like it, think it's saving you some $$, and would you recommend it or not? I don't have Alexa or any other smart device to tie this into so it'd be stand alone in that regard (until I make that leap and it's not on my radar). Thanks.
For our upstairs heat pump, we have a Lennox Wi-Fi thermostat. Like the Nest, it can be controlled via an app. Unlike the Nest, I can't use a home device to tell it to change the temperature. With both devices, if they lose Internet connectivity they still work and can be controlled at the device, but not through the app. So since you don't have a smart home device, you can control it via the app or by going directly to it. They will also tell you the outdoor temperature. My Lennox device even reminds me when it's time to change the air filters, and will display an error code if the system has an issue.
There have been a few studies showing that they save money by better controlling temperature based on time and season. They also start heating or cooling the home in advance of your set time. So say if you have set your thermostat to be at 68 degrees at 7 AM, and 58 before, they will figure out how long it takes to heat to 68 and start the furnace/heat pump at the right time to hit 68 at 7 AM.
I've installed multiple thermostats, they are very easy to do.
