Smart thermostats work just like normal thermostats but are much more intelligent.
Combined with an app on a mobile device, you can control your home’s heating at your fingertips.
Sounds expensive, right?
Let’s look at how much a smart thermostat UK will cost you and how good they are.
Best Smart Thermostat – Your options and prices
Smart thermostats are fast becoming popular for homeowners to control their heating and hot water.
A smart thermostat costs between £99 and £300 but it can help keep your heating bills down if used properly with a condensing boiler.
They are also great if you just want to be able to warm your home up before arriving home on a cold winter’s evening.
What are smart thermostats, and how do they work?
A smart thermostat is a device that lets you control your boiler and heating system with mobile devices to try and save money on energy bills.
They can help you save money on energy bills by heating and cooling your home more efficiently.
The best smart thermostat should be able to learn your habits whilst being able to control each radiator separately for ultimate energy-saving capabilities.
How much does a smart thermostat cost?
The actual cost of a smart thermostat will vary depending on the brand you buy.
There are quite a few smart thermostats available now, such as Hive, Nest, Amazon Tado & Wave.
Some you may have heard of and some you may not, so we’ll take a look at each one and find out how much they will cost.
Smart Thermostat Installation cost
Most Smart thermostats have to be installed to enable them to be used with your boiler.
Not all boilers are compatible, such as back boilers, with smart thermostats, so it is always best to check first.
Liuckily, you can install a smart thermostat yourself, but if you are unsure, then you can always pay a qualified electrician or similar to install it for you.
How much does it cost to install a smart thermostat?
On its own, installing a smart thermostat costs around £40.
This is for the hard-wired versions where it is connected to your boiler and fixed to the wall, such as Nest. If you are updgrading your boiler, you can get this included in the boiler replacement cost when you order online.
Other smart thermostats can be installed easily by yourself for free.
Which are the best smart thermostats in the Uk right now?
Here is our quick overview list of the six best smart thermostats on the market.
All these smart thermostats enable you to control your heating from a mobile phone, tablet or computer that you have an internet connection to save you money.
- Nest Learning Thermostat
- Hive Active Heating
- Amazon Smart Thermostat
- Tado
- Honeywell Evohome
- Ecobee
Smart Thermostats Prices Not Including Installation
| Smart Thermostat | Cost |
| Nest | £190 |
| Amazon Smart Thermostat | £60 |
| Hive | £119 |
| Tado | £99 |
| Honeywell | £130 |
| Ecobee | £130 |
Nest Learning Smart Thermostat – Our favourite smart thermostat
The Nest Learning Thermostat is the best smart thermostat.
It’s not the cheapest, but it is very good at what it does, and as the name suggests, this smart thermostat learns your heating habits.
You can also use your Google assistant to control the Nest smart thermostat with your voice.
Nest Smart Thermostat Best Bits
Other than learning, some of the best features of the Nest smart thermostat are the built-in sensors that can tell when you or a family member is at home.
Being able to control your heating from anywhere with an internet connection is great, saves you money and looks excellent.
Nest Smart Thermostat Negatives
One of the main downsides though to the Nest thermostat is that it doesn’t have the zonal control that some of the other thermostats have.
This means the Nest learning thermostat is unable currently to control each room temperature separately.
Hive Active Heating Smart Thermostat (unit only)
The Hive Active Heating System is brilliant if you want to set up zonal controls around your home to help cut utility bills.
One of the best smart thermostats available, it is very versatile as it can be used to control other smart home devices in your home, such as smart plugs, smart lights and security cameras.
Hive Smart Thermostat Best Bits
The Hive smart thermostat looks good and is very easy to use once set up and installed.
You can control the hive with Alexa once you have set everything up. It can also control other smart home devices that are compatible.
Hive Smart Thermostat Negatives
If you buy the Hive thermostat it is worth noting that it is likely you will have to pay for it to be professionally installed unless you are qualified enough already.
Hive installation costs vary depending on the installer, so it’s always good to get a few installation quotes.
Amazon Smart Thermostat – Not yet available in the UK
Brand new this month (September 2021), Amazon has finally got involved in the smart thermostat race.
After working with thermostat legends Honeywell, they have come up with an extremely affordable smart thermostat that you can control with Alexa, obviously.
The price of the Amazon smart thermostat is outstanding, but as it’s brand new, we can’t say how good it is yet!
Amazon Smart Thermostat Best Bits
The price! By far the cheapest smart thermostat and no doubt will be popular with everyone who already has an echo or other Amazon Alexa products on the market.
Being an Alexa smart thermostat with voice control is also a huge advantage.
Amazon Smart Thermostat Negatives
Being brand new, it isn’t available in the UK yet, but it is Amazon’s first smart thermostat, so we imagine that it will just be the starting point for them, and they will gradually get better when the next generation arrives.
There also might be a reason why they can offer them at such a low price too, but we will soon find out!
Tado Smart Thermostat – Good looking thermostat
The Tado smart thermostat is a beautifully designed piece of kit.,
It isn’t made by any of the big home assistant companies like Google, you can actually use this with any home assistant, even the Apple HomeKit.
Tado Smart Thermostat Best Bits
With zonal control on top of the excellent design and being able to control your heating from anywhere, the Tado is a cost-effective option for anyone who doesn’t want a Nest or Hive.
Tado Smart Thermostat Negatives
One of the main reasons Tado is let down is the not-so-user-friendly app that comes with it.
If you can get your head around this and don’t want the potential better options of the Nest or Hive then this is a good smart thermostat.
Honeywell Evohome Smart thermostat cost – Easy to use and control
Honeywell is well known for making great standard wireless thermostats at a great price.
What they have done with the Evohome is great, but the pricing leaves a little to be desired for what you get.
This easy-to-use smart thermostat, when used with smart radiator thermostatic radiator valves, lets you control all your radiators separately.
Honeywell Smart Thermostat Best Bits
The actual smart thermostat unit itself isn’t as sleek or pleasing to the eye as the other smart thermostats in this review.
Still, the actual useability of the Honeywell thermostat is the easiest and best to use.
Honeywell Smart Thermostat Negatives
As we have mentioned, the Honeywell isn’t the most stylish thermostat to have on show in your home and considering what its market rivals can do.
It was a little bit expensive also.
That said, it is a good smart thermostat from a renowned heating control company.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat – Potentially a great thermostat but hard to get hold of
The Ecobee smart thermostat is a very underrated smart thermostat.
This self-learning thermostat is easy to use and comes with Alexa Voice control built-in.
It may not have the same “wow factor” as the Google Nest, but this less-known smart thermostat is a definite alternative.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat Best Bits
Self-learning, good looking and cheaper than the Nest.
If these smart thermostats could control separate rooms as well then it may have been even nearer the top of the list.
This easy-to-use smart thermostat could well be climbing up the ranks very soon.
Ecobee Smart Thermostat Negatives
The Ecobee is a little less known due to its limited availability.
It also doesn’t let you control each room separately at the moment too, but this is common among some of the better thermostats also.
Keep your eye out for any changes for the Ecobee.
Top Smart Thermostats Overview – What you need for them to work and save you money
If you are considering replacing your old thermostat with a new smart thermostat then you need to ensure that you have the following to enable them to work and for you to get the most out of them.
Internet Connection
Smart thermostats work wirelessly, therefore, you need to have an internet connection from any mobile device that you will use to control your heating.
Many smart thermostats can be hard-wired into your home if needed.
Download Mobile App
Your heating and hot water control will all be done via a mobile app specific to your smart thermostat.
This is where you have complete control of your heating systems, see how much energy you are using to save energy and the other smart features that each of the smart thermostats require to work.
Compatible Boiler
Not all boilers are compatible with smart thermostats; some will be better at cutting your energy bill than others.
Some new boilers come with smart thermostats. Such as Worcester Bosch EasyControl.
The right energy tariffs
Suppose you are changing to a smart thermostat; in that case, it may also be worth checking with your energy suppliers to get an idea of your current energy usage if you don’t already know.
Have a look to see if there are any better energy tariffs.
If you need to, you can always change energy providers and also check if they have any smart thermostat deals.
Are smart thermostats worth the money?
Whilst your existing thermostat can be set to turn on and off at certain times, if you are in and out of your house at random times then the smart thermostat could be a great addition to your home.
You can ensure that your heating isn’t switching on whilst no one is in.
If you aren’t that bothered about saving money but want a cosy home ready for when you get in, then you could argue they are still worth it.
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to save money this Winter with the energy prices constantly going up?
New boilers and smart thermostat deals
if you are looking for a new energy-efficient boiler to help keep your heating bill down, then you could also get a smart thermostat as part of a packaged deal.
How much does it cost to install a thermostat UK
Companies such as Easy Boilers offer a smart thermostat for £99, and you get free installation on the day within the new boiler cost.
For Gas Safe registered installation, you can get a fixed price quote in 30 seconds.
