A smart thermostat can make a great gift for that person in your life who's always worrying too much (or not enough) about the temperature. If you give the gift of a high-tech thermostat, maybe also give this advice: Wait to train it until after the holidays.
This advice comes from Cisco DeVries, executive vice president at Renew Home, which runs a program of virtual power plants connected to Nest thermostats. The Nest Learning Thermostat has a feature in which it learns your habits -- when you're home, when you're away, what temperatures you like at what time of day -- and adjusts accordingly.
The problem is that your schedule the week after Christmas is probably not your normal routine.
"When you get it at Christmas and start it over the Christmas break, don't have it learn until you go back to work," DeVries said.
DeVries recommends restarting the thermostat's learning mode or waiting to have it start learning your behavior until you've hit a normal routine. It's not the end of the world if it thinks you live a life of leisure, you'll have a better experience if you teach it right from the start.
Does a smart thermostat make a good gift?
It may seem weird to gift someone a device that controls their HVAC system, but a smart thermostat is an upgrade that can save you money and maximize comfort. Energy Star estimates that a smart thermostat can save the average American about $50 a year on bills.
We've taken a look at a lot of smart thermostats, and they range from devices that are a little bit of an upgrade from the classic dial to machines that can tell you the weather forecast and serve as Bluetooth speakers. Here are our favorite smart thermostats, including the Amazon Smart Thermostat and Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium.
Should you wait to install smart home tech over the holidays?
It depends on how smart it is. Devices like a smart thermostat that learns your behavior may not hit their stride as quickly if you train them when you have an abnormal schedule. Other devices -- even thermostats -- that rely more heavily on how you program them will be just fine.
In any case, these devices will eventually learn your habits. They just might have to unlearn something first.
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