Vivint Thermostats Make Smart Home Temperature Control Almost Too Easy

There are few household debates more predictable than the thermostat argument. Someone is always too hot. Someone else is freezing. One kid is wearing a hoodie in July while another has decided that 68 degrees is a personal attack. Meanwhile, the person paying the energy bill is quietly reconsidering every life choice that led to this moment.

The Vivint Smart Thermostat takes some of that nonsense off your plate by putting temperature control inside the same Vivint app used to manage the rest of your smart home. Instead of bouncing between apps like you’re trying to unlock a particularly boring video game achievement, you can adjust the temperature from one place.

Installation Without the Usual Household Drama

Getting the thermostat set up was refreshingly painless, thanks to the Vivint service team. The installation was handled professionally, making the whole process feel considerably less intimidating than the kind of home improvement project that starts with “I watched a video about this.”

That service is worth mentioning because smart-home technology is only really smart if you can actually get it working. Nobody wants to spend a Saturday staring at wires, instruction manuals and a thermostat that appears to have developed a personal grudge. With Vivint handling the installation, we could get on with the important household business of arguing about what temperature the house should actually be.

Your Thermostat Now Has a Schedule

One of the more useful features is the ability to create routines based on whether you’re home or away. The thermostat can adjust itself around your household’s schedule, so you’re not heating or cooling an empty house simply because everyone forgot to touch the thermostat before leaving.

That matters particularly for families, because “I’ll remember to turn that down before we leave” is generally the sort of promise that lasts until someone starts yelling about being late for soccer practice.

You can set temperature routines around occupancy, helping the system make adjustments when the house is occupied and when it isn’t. Once those routines are established, the thermostat can handle those changes automatically instead of relying on somebody to remember them.

Smart Temperature Control Without Another App

The Vivint app is where the thermostat becomes especially convenient. Temperature adjustments can be made remotely, which means you don’t necessarily have to be standing in the hallway arguing with a wall-mounted rectangle to make a change.

If you’re out and realize the house is set to the wrong temperature, you can adjust it through the app. That can be particularly handy when plans change, kids come home early, or you suddenly remember that the air conditioning has been working overtime for no particularly good reason.

For families already using Vivint, having the thermostat integrated into the same ecosystem also cuts down on the number of separate smart-home controls competing for attention on your phone.

The AI Is Supposed to Save You Money

Vivint also brings AI-powered technology into the thermostat, with the goal of improving energy efficiency by making smarter adjustments to heating and cooling. According to Vivint, the technology has been shown to save homeowners up to $300 per year.

Obviously, your actual savings will depend on your home, climate, energy usage and how aggressively your family treats the thermostat like a competitive sport. Still, the concept makes sense. A thermostat that can automatically respond to your routines has a better chance of avoiding unnecessary heating and cooling than the traditional approach of setting a temperature and forgetting about it until someone complains.

And there is something satisfying about technology quietly handling a mundane household task while you concentrate on more important matters, such as figuring out why there are 47 open snack bags in the pantry.

A More Manageable Smart Home

The appeal of the Vivint Smart Thermostat isn’t necessarily that it makes temperature control exciting. Frankly, that would be concerning. Nobody needs a thermostat demanding attention like a needy social media influencer.

Instead, it makes temperature management less noticeable. You can control it through the Vivint app, establish routines for when you’re home and away, and let its smart technology work toward more efficient energy use. Add an easy installation experience and the support of Vivint’s service team, and there is considerably less hassle involved in getting the system up and running.

For a busy household, that is probably the sweet spot. The thermostat does its job, the app keeps everything in one place, and ideally the family spends a little less time standing in front of it asking the eternal question: “Who changed the temperature?”