The 2 Best Smart Air Conditioners

Keep temperatures and energy bills from heating up

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Updated on February 24, 2021

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The Rundown

Best Budget:

LG Smart Window Air Conditioner at Amazon

"Offers window air conditioners with smart features that get the job done without a lot of extra cost."

Best Smart A/C Control:

Sensibo Sky at Amazon

"An affordable way to get a whole lot of smart cooling functionality."

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With the numbers of options still fairly limited, you won’t find a huge variation in the price of smart A/Cs. But LG offers window air conditioners with smart features that get the job done without a lot of extra costs. Wi-Fi enabled versions are available for their 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000-BTU models, so you can choose which amount of cooling power is most appropriate for your room. All models are Energy Star-certified and include an auto-restart feature to get things back up and running after a power outage.

The Wi-Fi connection built-in to the LG appliance shows some tendency to be problematic, but this can happen to basically any smart A/C across the board, and for most homes, it works just fine. As part of the company’s LG SmartThinQ line of smart home devices, the same free app controls the air conditioner as well. It handles all the A/C’s basic functions, like the important one of getting your house cooled down before you get home. Google Home and Amazon Alexa virtual assistants are also supported.

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If you want to keep your existing air conditioner or can’t find a Wi-Fi-enabled version that meets your needs, there are ways to add smart features to a “dumb” A/C. Connecting it to a smart plug will give you the most basic control. But for more advanced air conditioning-specific tools, you’ll want a smart A/C control device like the Sensibo Sky, an affordable way to get a whole lot of smart cooling functionality.

Setting up the small Sensibo Sky device is simple. You plug it in and can stick it to the wall if you’d like. You pair it through your air conditioner’s infrared sensor—meaning your unit needs to support a remote control to work. Then you connect the Sensibo Sky to your home W-Fi and download the Sensibo app, available for iOS or Android (and as a web app if you’re not at a mobile device). The app is rich with features—besides basic A/C operation, you can create schedules and set up temperature adjustments based on your phone’s location or the weather around your house.

The Sensibo Sky is compatible with Alexa and Google Home, but it doesn’t stop there. Its open API allows for a number of community-built integrations with services that aren’t officially supported, like Samsung’s SmartThings and, indirectly, Apple’s HomeKit. You can also set up your own automated tasks through IFTTT.

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