What is a smart thermostat, and does it make sense in India?

A classic smart thermostat — think Nest or Honeywell — is a wall device that controls a home's central heating or ducted air-conditioning, learning your habits and running the system efficiently. That's genuinely useful, but it only works if you actually have a central system, and most Indian homes don't: they cool with individual split or window ACs and heat water with a geyser. So for the majority of homes here, the smarter buy is a smart AC controller rather than a central thermostat. It's an infrared device that controls your existing air-conditioner, giving you app control, schedules, geofencing and temperature automation without any central system. We'll tell you honestly which category fits your home rather than selling you a thermostat that has nothing to control.