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Tech critic David Phelan picks the top smart thermostats

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A smart thermostat isn't just a fancy way to control your boiler from your phone. The best of them will learn your usage patterns over time, know when you're at home or away, adjust themselves for cold snaps and anticipate when you'll want central heating or hot water hours in advance, ensuring you only ever use energy when it's needed.

Smart thermostats promise to trim pounds off your gas and electricity bills each month, by switching on and off at just the right times, rather than going full blast when you're not at home.

With winter temperatures dropping, now is an ideal time to invest in one of these nifty devices.

Some smart thermostats can even talk to other smart home devices, such as a smoke alarm, which can spot when, heaven forbid, there's a fire and turn off the boiler instantly, to stop it making a bad situation worse.

How I tested

While testing each smart thermostat, I assessed them against the following criteria:

Installation and setup: I tested how easy each thermostat was to install and get running, as well as how long it took me to get through the setup.

Ease of use: I assessed how simple it was to operate day-today and navigate the interface. For example, if controlled through an app, how easy was this to download and use.

Reliability and performance: I checked whether the thermostat accurately heated rooms to the desired temperature it said it would.

Features: I looked at the number of extra features included, if any, and whether they were practical and actually useful.

Why you can trust IndyBest reviews

David Phelan, as The Independent's technology critic, has decades of experience assessing tech products of all kinds. From his review of the iPad Pro to the best wireless earbuds, David knows what he's talking about. For all of his reviews, he tests the products thoroughly and only recommends the ones he believes to be worth your money.