The new Amazon Smart Thermostat is on sale for the first time — it's just $48 right now

Rick Broida
·Senior Tech Writer
·6 min read

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Give your home HVAC an IQ boost with the Amazon Smart Thermostat, an especially smart buy at $48. (Photo: Amazon)
Give your home HVAC an IQ boost with the Amazon Smart Thermostat, an especially smart buy at $48. (Photo: Amazon)

"Alexa, set the thermostat to 73."

Sounds pretty good, right? I mean, it's 2021... We're well past having to walk across the room (or, horror, down the stairs) to adjust the temperature.

Ah, but a smart HVAC control must be expensive, right? Not today: For a limited time, the new Amazon Smart Thermostat is on sale for just $48 — the first-ever discount and, obviously, the lowest price to date. It normally sells for $60, already making it one of most affordable smart thermostats on the market.

But, wait, it gets better: Your local electric and/or gas utility might have rebates that would cover some or all of the cost. And once you place your order, Amazon will handle the heavy lifting for you, checking with those utilities and notifying you of any available rebates.

$48 $60 at Amazon

(Pro tip: If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial here.)

There are a few things you need to know about the Amazon Smart Thermostat (which I'll refer to as AST from here on). First, it's imperative that your HVAC system have a C-wire. Most do, but if yours doesn't, you'll need an adapter. Use the compatibility-checker on the product page to find out.

Second, to really make the most of the AST, you'll need at least one Alexa-capable device in your home — ideally an Echo speaker or Echo Show smart screen. That's so you can issue voice commands to the thermostat; it doesn't have the ability to recognize them on its own.

(Don't have one? You can grab something like the Echo Dot for just $30 — down from $50 — right now.)

How smart is the Amazon Smart Thermostat?

The AST itself is attractive but fairly basic-looking, with a digital readout indicating the temperature but no touchscreen like on the popular Nest and Ecobee thermostats. Most of the status and programming action takes place on your phone via the Alexa app; you can adjust the temperature, check energy usage, set up timers and so on.

Meanwhile, Alexa Hunches handle the "learning" aspects of the thermostat, making temp adjustments depending on whether you're home or not.

I haven't had the chance to test the AST myself, and the product currently has just a 4-star average from around 500 Amazon customers. Some of the lower ratings appear to relate to Wi-Fi connectivity issues, something to consider if you're not especially tech-savvy.

So, yeah, given that this is a new product, maybe it's a little early to put it in charge of your home heating and cooling. On the other hand, $48 makes it an awfully affordable risk, and you can always return it if it doesn't work out.

$48 $60 at Amazon

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