Your Cart

WhatsApp: +86-19896689593

Wholesalers are welcome to contact us

Smart WiFi Thermostat

Are WiFi Thermostats Worth It

With the iteration of technology, consumption upgrades, and the impact of COVID-19, the home office approach is being promoted, people spend longer at home, the demand for home appliances will increase significantly. Therefore, people will begin to pay attention to the upgrade of home appliances. The adjustment of home HVAC is obviously one of the important concerns, people can’t help thinking about whether it is worth using a smarter WiFi thermostat.

So, as a supplier of thermostats, eBee Technology needs to discuss this topic here.

On This Page

Normal Thermostat VS WiFi Thermostat, the Function Comparison

To discuss whether the WiFi thermostat is worth it, of course, we should start with the comparison of the functional differences between the normal thermostat.

the Functions of Normal Thermostat

People used mechanical thermostats in the early days. With the development of electronic technology and the emergence of LCD displays, digital thermostats have gradually become popular, but this is only the progress of numerical display, for the functions are still not advanced enough:

  • Temperature controlling
  • The external sensor detects the temperature
  • The digital screen or the scale panel displays the running status
  • Data memory when power is off
  • 5+2 or 5+1+1 periods programming mode

Of course, in order to be able to remotely manage, people have also created a thermostat that can use BACnet or Modbus communication protocols to control it through the master computer. This mainly occurs in situations where centralized control is required, such as shopping malls and office buildings. For home users, those methods are not applicable, because they use wired communication, and the cost is extremely high in both use and maintenance.

the Applications of Normal Thermostat

  • Central air conditioning, fan coil unit adjusting, execution valve controlling
  • Air source heat pump
  • Electric floor heating equipment, such as heating mat, infrared heating film, the electric heating cable
  • Plumbing heating/underfloor water heating
  • Gas boiler or dry contact/volt-free

Then, what is the performance of the upgraded WiFi thermostat?

the Functions of WiFi Thermostat

As its name describes, most of the WiFi thermostats are customized with their own WiFi function based on the esp8226 module. A complete WiFi thermostat includes the thermostat itself, WiFi module, cloud server, mobile APP, and some also have a PC console. The WiFi module realizes data transmission between the thermostat and cloud services by connecting to the network. The mobile APP and PC console provide a visual interface and a variety of customizable function options for the wireless control of the WiFi thermostat. This is also the power source of the WiFi thermostat.

The Functions of WiFi Thermostat

With the powerful customization capabilities of the APP and PC control interface, the WiFi thermostat has the following functions in addition to all the functions of the ordinary thermostat.

  • In addition to using the control panel on the thermostat, you can also use the mobile phone APP or PC for remote control, and the interactive interface is more user-friendly.
  • With the help of mobile phone GPS function, expand the automatic mode of geographical location.
  • Automatic statistics and analysis of power consumption to better manage household energy expenditure.
  • Access to smart speakers – the control portal for the future home appliances, realize the voice control. Currently, Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home Kit and Tmall Genie occupy most of the smart speaker market share.

What a cool upgrade the WiFi thermostat is! For consumers with a geek spirit, there is no hesitation in buying a WiFi thermostat. However, as to whether it is worth buying a WiFi thermostat, most of us should remain rational and do more analysis.

Analyze Whether the WiFi Thermostat is Worth it by Price

Most users will consider whether it is worth buying a WiFi thermostat in terms of price. Due to different brands, sales areas, and product grades, the price of thermostats also varies greatly.

the Prices of Normal Thermostats

  • The price of a thermostat without an LCD screen. The price fluctuation of the normal thermostats is small. The price of a mechanical thermostat without a display screen is about 7 to 15 dollars. Brands like Honeywell, because of their reliable quality and reputation, also have 25-dollar products.
  • The price of a thermostat with an LCD screen. The price of this kind of thermostat is also very cheap, which is between $10 and $25.
  • Customized thermostat. Some construction projects, such as hotels, villas, etc., will have the demand for thermostat customization, mainly in appearance and operation method customization. The price varies with the customization content, which is not within the scope of our discussion.

In a word, ordinary-style thermostats are cheap, so there will not be too much pressure on household expenses. We list them here for users to compare.

the Prices of WiFi Thermostats

  • The price of international WiFi thermostat brand suppliers. The prices of these suppliers are relatively high. For example, among the hot sellers in the past, Nest‘s 3rd Generation thermostat costs $234.99, Honeywell RTH9580WF costs $89.00, Emerson Sensi ST75 costs $129.00, Nest’s E thermostat costs $169.00. These are good thermostats, powerful, well-made, and high-end positioning.
  • The price of an economical WiFi thermostat. Economical WiFi thermostats usually use digital tube screens instead of full-color LCD screens to reduce costs, but the functions are still powerful. Of course, for a WiFi thermostat at this price, people are most worried about its quality rather than its functionality. According to our experience, the quality of economical WiFi thermostats can be evaluated from three aspects: the quality of the injection-molded case, the quality of the screen, and the quality of the buttons or touch buttons. The price of this position of WiFi thermostat is basically between US$25 and US$50. If users can find a supplier with stable quality at this price, it would be a great thing.
The List of Thermostat Prices Per Unit Type for Terminal User
The List of Thermostat Prices Per Unit Type for Terminal User

Spending on Daily Energy Consumption

In addition to considering the hardware cost required to purchase a WiFi thermostat, the energy expenditure of the household should also be considered.

According to statistics of 2019, the annual household energy expenditure in Australia ranges from $1300 to $1800, British households spend an average of £679 on electricity and £610 on gas, in the United States, 51% of household energy expenditure is spent on air conditioning and heating. Obviously, controlling household HVAC expenses can save a lot of money, and the thermostat is the way.

According to the statistics of the US Department of Energy, thermostats with programming functions can save 10% of energy expenditure each year. In fact, not all of the thermostats are properly programmed in daily use. Among the 35,471 programmable thermostats monitored in New York and San Francisco in 2003, 53% of the thermostats did not have the programming mode enabled.

But WiFi thermostats, can help people save more than 12% of energy!

We can calculate this conservatively, a family’s annual energy expenditure is $1,300, the WiFi thermostat saves 12% energy, then a year can save $156, the thermostat with programming mode saves 10% energy, and a year saves $130.

Therefore, if people can get a thermostat with good quality for no more than $26 on the basis of the price of an ordinary thermostat, it will be a very cost-effective thing.

the WiFi Thermostat Hardware Cost Payback Cycle

The benefits of WiFi thermostats are clearly a return on energy saving. We have mentioned above that the price range of WiFi thermostats is between $25 and $250, the energy-saving benefit that can be brought about by a year of conservativeness is $156, so the cost return or payback cycle is basically within 1 to 2 years, in some subtropical regions it maybe 3 years.

Obviously, as long as the quality of the WiFi thermostat is good enough to exceed the payback period/cycle, it is worth buying.

Analysis of User Portrait of WiFi Thermostat

Regardless of other conditions, there are always groups who choose to use WiFi thermostats, and some groups choose not to use WiFi thermostats. These people always have some common characteristics, which are listed here for users to check their seats.

Portrait of the Users Using the WiFi Thermostats

  • Proficient in the use of IoT devices
  • Hope to be able to remotely control the thermostat
  • Want to further save on household energy expenses
  • Want to accurately calculate the household energy consumption
  • Chasing the home fashion trends and use cool things

Portrait of the Users Do not Use the WiFi Thermostats

  • Plan to move in the short term
  • Think the WiFi thermostat is too difficult to control
  • Think the price exceeds the budget
  • More accustomed to using old-style thermostats

If you are one of these people, perhaps you already know whether it is worth buying a WiFi thermostat.

The Trend of Home Appliances

Whether it is worth buying a WiFi thermostat, the trend of future home appliances is also a reference factor. We have analyzed 3794 home appliance companies, and 83% of them are upgrading their products to integrate into the Internet of Things. Among them, WiFi, Zigbee, and Bluetooth are the three most common networking methods. These products have the following characteristics.

Make the Home Safer

Thermostats or other products often have higher production processes and quality, and more sensors are implanted to detect electricity, gas, air, and temperature conditions in the home, and when they exceed the reasonable parameter range prompt users to ensure family safety.

More Stylish Industrial Design

If the product is only added with functions without paying attention to industrial design, then users will not pay the bill, so future home appliances such as thermostats will have better industrial designs. For example, eBee Technology’s WiFi thermostat won the IF Design Award in 2018.

Link With Other Products to Form An Ecosystem

In the Internet era, information transfer between people has gotten rid of geographic restrictions, while the Internet of Things era has achieved ultra-low latency communication, linkage, and functional complementarity between products, forming a smart ecological network. The smart thermostat is linked with door locks, lights, security cameras, and other products to form a home appliance combination function that can be customized according to the scene. The camera authenticates the legitimate user, the door lock automatically turns on and off, the light automatically turns on, and the thermostat automatically sets the user’s favorite temperature based on the identified user. Isn’t it cool? That is the ecosystem.

The Features of WiFi Thermostat

Here, our analysis is almost complete. If you think the WiFi thermostat is worthwhile, then you will agree with the following features of the WiFi thermostat.

  • Excellent workmanship and shape design
  • Backward compatible with all functions of ordinary thermostats
  • With the WiFi function, mobile APP control, location management, energy efficiency analysis and other functions
  • Long-term use can recover hardware costs in a way that saves energy consumption at home
  • There are multiple price ranges of WiFi thermostats for selection according to needs

Tips: If you can find high-quality suppliers in China and other emerging areas of technology, it will be very wonderful!

eBee Technology hopes that our evaluation can be useful to you, and wish you a satisfactory WiFi thermostat and a warm home.

Free Worldwide Shipping

Fast, free shipping

Easy 30 Days Returns

30 days money back guarantee

International Warranty

12-month warranty

100% Secure Checkout

PayPal payment