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How to reduce your energy bill (in any season) with a single device
By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full blog how to reduce your energy bill (in any season) with a single smart home device. No matter where in the country you live, opening your monthly energy bill can feel like a crapshoot. What will the damage be? To improve your chances in this financial roulette game, consider a smart Wi-Fi thermostat. Smart thermostats can't work miracles, but they can save you real money—for example, Google says that Nest owners typically save 10 to 15 percent on their energy bill, and Ecobee claims savings as high as 23 percent for someone whose home is always set at 72. Smart thermostats, such as our pick, the popular Google Nest Thermostat E, accomplish this by optimizing your home's heating and cooling settings so that they aren't running as long or as often. That seemingly modest skill can save you cash (so long as you configure your device correctly). And if you're upgrading from an old-fashioned, non-programmable model, you may save even more. How much depends on things like the size and age of your home, the type of construction, what climate you live in, and the type of thermostat you're replacing.
The best Alexa-compatible smart-home devices for Amazon Echo
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to Alexa-compatible smart-home devices for Amazon Echo. Imagine walking into your home at night, arms overflowing with groceries. Even if you've installed smart lights, you'd need to put the bags down, pull out your phone, unlock it, open the app, find the control for the lights you want, and then tap the icon—might as well just stick with a plain old wired switch. But with an Alexa, you simply say, "Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights." And it's not just lights; Alexa is capable of controlling everything from basic smart plugs to garage doors. All three smart-speaker platforms (Alexa, Google Assistant, and to a lesser degree, Siri) can control a variety of smart-home devices and add an extra level of convenience to your smart-home system. We think Amazon's Alexa has a slight edge over the others because it works with more devices, and the wider family of Amazon Echo products makes it easier to fit them everyplace in your home. However, if you already have a Google Home speaker, the differences aren't large enough for you to need to switch platforms. We have guides for the best devices to use with Google Assistant and Siri/HomeKit. The Amazon Echo (or Echo Dot) offers a convenient interface for your smart home and provides functionality that an app on your phone can't. If you already have some Alexa-compatible devices or one of the three major smart-home hubs (SmartThings, Wink, or Insteon), adding an Echo can make accessing those devices more interesting and convenient. Taking advantage of its near-instantaneous response time and reliable voice-recognition processing is significantly faster than pulling out your phone and opening an app just to turn the lights on or off. Some products, such as Philips Hue lights and Nest thermostats, have native Alexa support, while others require you to enable a third-party skill. We tested plenty of both varieties to come up with the best-performing and most reliable recommendations, which we're continually testing to ensure that each new firmware and app update meets our high standards. Over the past several years, Wirecutter's editors and writers have tested just about every smart-home device of consequence. As more people end up buying smart speakers and platform support gets more and more important, we wanted to provide one place where you could access all of our picks that are compatible with the devices you already own, across all of our smart-home recommendations. Because these devices receive regular updates with additional compatibility and new features, we are continually testing and reevaluating our picks in our own homes to confirm that they still meet our recommendation standards. We'll update this guide as we learn new information, but be sure to read the full reviews if you'd like more details and test notes. If you don't yet have an Alexa-enabled device, or you want to learn more about what Alexa is and what you can do with these things, check out our full guide to Alexa and Amazon's Echo line of smart speakers.
Nest's simplified Thermostat E arrives in the UK for £199
Nest's Thermostat E arrived on the scene a little over a year ago, with its relatively simplistic, subtle design making it appear perhaps less prominent in your living space than other smart thermostats. Now, it's making its way to the UK. Pre-orders are open Tuesday, and the device will cost you £199, £20 less than the Nest Learning Thermostat. It will also be available at retailers from mid-October.
