Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Amazon drops awesome deals on these Emerson and Honeywell smart thermostats

Nearly half of the typical American household’s annual utility bill is for air conditioning and heating, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. To help alleviate that cost, your home should be equipped with a smart thermostat. Right now, the most advanced smart thermostats that don’t just simply rely on a schedule to turn your home’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system on and off. You can program them with more sophisticated schedules and remotely control them even when you’re not at home. A couple of budget-friendly smart thermostats are the Emerson Sensi and the Honeywell Home, both of which are available on Amazon at awesome discounted prices.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The battery-powered Emerson Sensi thermostat can deftly handle the basics of smart HVAC system control. It runs on two AA batteries, unlike other thermostats that require a separate power line. The Sensi is compatible with the HVAC equipment already found in most homes, including heat pumps and most 24-volt systems.

This thermostat connects wirelessly to a home Wi-Fi network, allowing it to be controlled and programmed using an iOS or Android device. Installing the Sensi is very easy. Just follow the instructions on the mobile app and you will be able to do it in 30 minutes or less. Once configured, you can remotely access your home’s HVAC system through the app. Turn the air conditioning on while you’re on the road, an hour before arriving home. The Sensi also works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Wink smart home platforms.

Its monochrome screen is pretty bare-bones and only shows battery level, temperature, time, and Wi-Fi connection. It doesn’t compare with the flashy interface of other high-end smart thermostats like those offered by Nest and Ecobee. The Sensi does feature Smart Alerts that notify you when it detects extreme temperature and humidity levels in your home and provides emailed usage reports each month.

This no-nonsense piece of equipment covers all the essential smart HVAC controls and comes at a great price. Get it for only $96 on Amazon, $34 less than its normal retail price of $130.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Something a bit pricier but decidedly more feature-packed is the Honeywell Home, a reliable and relatively easy-to-install touchscreen thermostat. Everything you need to get the unit up and running is already found in the package. Besides the thermostat, you also get a wall plate, screws and anchors, wire labels, and a user guide and quick start guide. Just like the Sensi, this smart thermostat takes roughly 30 minutes to install, but you need to have a C wire available.

The touchscreen is in full color, and there are several different themes to choose from, giving this thermostat a more expensive and high-tech feel. It isn’t the most responsive though, and sometimes you would need to keep pressing in order to initiate a command. Still, this is infinitely more attractive compared to the Sensi. Besides, you can just use the mobile app or connect it with a smart home platform like Alexa, Google Home, and Smartthings to control it.

The main screen shows you the indoor temperature and indoor humidity level, the temperature and humidity level outside, the time, and the temperature at which your thermostat is set. Tapping the Weather option will display today’s weather forecast. You can also check the status of your heating and cooling equipment and set up a schedule through the panel. A technology called the Smart Response Learning allows the thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature of your home for maximum comfort. And on the Honeywell Total Connect Comfort app, you can receive smart alerts like air filter change reminders, humidifier pad replacement reminders, high/low-temperature warnings, and the status of your internet connection.

But the real question is, does it really help conserve energy? We’re happy to report that yes, it does. During our six-month test, there was a significant 15% drop in our kWh (kilowatt-hour) consumption. The Honeywell Home Smart Color thermostat usually comes with a $199 price tag, but with Amazon’s cool $41 discount, you can get it for $158. And if you pay via the Amazon Rewards Visa Card and it gets approved, you’ll get an additional $50 off instantly, bringing its price down to $108.

Both the Emerson Sensi and the Honeywell Home are solid and reliable smart thermostats that are guaranteed to help you save money. If you’re OK with a monochrome panel that does its job well, get the Emerson Sensi. But for something flashier with plenty more smart features, opt for the Honeywell Home for $62 more.

Click here for our best smart thermostats. And visit our curated deals page for more exciting discounts.

Editors' Recommendations

Timothy Taylor
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Timothy is a deals writer for Digital Trends that specializes in finding the best discounts on smartphones, wireless…
Today’s Galaxy Tab S9 deal: $100 off and free Buds 2 Pro
Samsung Galaxy Tab s9 back and front visible

If you've had your eyes on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 for a while, now's the perfect time to buy the tablet. The 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD model is available from Samsung tablet deals for $700, following a $100 discount on its original price of $800, and you'll get the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, worth $230, for free. That's a total of $330 in savings if you proceed with the purchase right away, so what are you waiting for? Complete the transaction right now, because the bargain may be gone as soon as tomorrow.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra are featured in our roundup of the best tablets, but don't ignore the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9. The base model of the tablet is an excellent tool for all-around usage with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and 8GB of RAM, which combine for dependable performance in handling everyday functions. The device comes with internal storage of 128GB, but if that's not enough for you, there's an option for extra space of up to 1TB by inserting a microSD card.

Read more
The best 17-inch laptop deals from HP, LG, Razer, and more
An HP Omen 17 laptop on a desk.

Long ago, 17-inch laptops were quite rare, and the only times you'd find them was on the best gaming laptops, and that usually meant you were buying a very expensive Alienware machine. Luckily, a lot has changed since then, and there are a plethora of pretty solid 17-inch laptop deals for you to pick from, whether you want something budget-friendly or one of the best laptops on the market. Not only that, but pretty much all the best laptop brands have 17-inch laptop options, so if you want to stay within a specific ecosystem or brand, then you can easily do that.

To that end, we've gone out and found some of our favorite 17-inch laptop deals out there, including HP laptop deals, Dell laptop deals (and Dell XPS laptop deals), and gaming laptop deals.
HP 17.3-inch laptop — $329, was $550

Read more
Save $250 with this Arlo Pro security camera bundle deal
The contents of the Arlo Pro 5S 2K security bundle.

A single security camera may not be enough to protect your home, so you should be looking for bundles when you're browsing through security camera deals. Here's one that you should consider -- the Arlo Pro 5S 2K security camera bundle, which is down to $450 from Best Buy following a $250 discount on its original price of $700. There's a chance that it's back to its regular price as soon as tomorrow, so if you want to enjoy the savings, it's highly recommended that you push through with your purchase right now.

Why you should buy the Arlo Pro 5S 2K security camera bundle
The bundle comes with three units of the Arlo Pro 5S 2K security camera, which is capable of up to 12x zoom to get a closer look at faces and license plates, and a 160-degree field of view so you'll see more of what's going on. You can look through their lenses using the Arlo Secure app, and you can customize motion zones so you'll get a notification if the security camera detects movement in those areas. Footage will be clear even at night with the Arlo Pro 5S 2K's color night vision and enhanced low light video, and it's easy to install with a wire-free setup as it's battery-powered.

Read more