Smart appliances can bring a new meaning to your home improvements, and smart vents are the new contender in town!
That being said, controlling the airflow of your house to perfection will become a new norm soon, and smart vents are the new & not yet mainstream innovative technology that can help you regulate airflow to perfection.
Smart home vents not only can regulate the airflow & maintain temperatures according to the set temperatures in different rooms, but they can also help you reduce some burden on your pockets while paying the bills.
Of course, there are many other mainstream technologies available that still claim to save a lot of electricity like smart thermostats, however, smart air vents can easily outmatch the power consumption of these devices.
We will explain it all in this informative/buying guide, so you can learn more about smart vents & how investing your money on home smart vents can make your life better! Moreover, we will list some of the best smart vents that you can buy right now.
So, get ready as we try to compel you to replace your home vents with some of the best smart vents on the market!
All you need to know about Smart Vents
- Crash Course on Smart Vents
- Best Smart Vents to buy in 2021
- Smart Vents & Smart Thermostats, What’s the difference?
- How Smart Vents can potentially help you save electricity bills?
- Is opting for Smart Vents worth the Investment?
- What more benefits does Smart Vents Provide?
- Are Smart Vents Dangerous for your HVAC system?
- Are Smart Vents only limited to AirFlow?
- What to keep in mind while buying smart vents?
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked questions
Crash Course on Smart Vents
Before digging your pockets, and investing in smart home vents, you first need to know how exactly do these smart air vents work. As the name suggests, they are smart, which implies that they operate on their own & can be controlled & set up with an app.
Normally, your HVAC system will have a home venting system that will regulate the airflow at the same pace that can sometimes be manually regulated by opening & closing the vent in some rooms. Smart home vents eliminate the manual adjustment hassle from your life.
Smart Vents are automatic small controllable air vents that can detect activity & adjust open/close or regulate automatically. What this means is that once you have set up your smart vent according to your preferences.
And with Individual sensors placed in your rooms, smart vents can detect motion, ambient temperature & adjust accordingly.
The vent will automatically detect motion in the room & turn regulate cool/warm air in the room to maintain the optimal temperature as per preferences. Well, you might be wondering isn’t that somewhat similar to smart thermostats?
Not exactly, We will explain that in details, however, let’s first list some of the most reliable & credible smart vents on the market:
Best Smart Vents to buy in 2021
Now that you have a faint idea about smart vents & how they work, let’s begin our buying guide on the best ones to buy. Buying a smart venting system requires a hefty amount of investment, however, in the long run, you can get your money’s worth out of it.
While Smart Vents are not yet a mainstream product, and you will find limited options for it in the market, however, there are some quality products that we’ll now list in this guide. And now with smart home vents, you can potentially save money from buying expensive zoning systems.
So now, without wasting more of your time, let’s list some of the most credible products in the market.
Anyway, let’s begin!
1. Ecovent Smart Vents
Why we love it?
- Good Battery Life 1+ Years (AA Batteries)
- Noise-free Venting System
- Builtin Temperature Sensors
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to Install | Expensive Option |
| Integrated Air Pressure Sensor | |
| Modern & Elegant Looking Vent |
2. Keen Smart Vent
Why we love it?
- Popular Brand
- Affordable compared to Ecovent
- Compatible with Nest & Ecobee smart thermostats
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Over 2 years of Battery life | Quality issues in the past |
| 4 different sizes available | Some customer received vents with dead batteries |
| Trim kits to fit every opening |
3. Flair Smart Vents
Why we love it?
- Sturdy Steel Construction
- Works with Ecobee, Alexa, Honeywell & Google Assistant
- Flair Puck a thermostat that is dedicated to every room
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Puck Comes with IR Blaster | Aggressive back pressure system. |
| Wired option for vents | Puck needs to be bought separately |
| No Integration Issues |
Smart Vents & Smart Thermostats, What’s the difference?
Now that you have gone through our listed products, let’s discuss details about smart vents. We begin by comparing smart vents & smart thermostats.
For the most part, these two different appliances are usually compatible with each other, and when combined can work wonders for your electricity bill saving. However, as the name suggests they are different & one is better than the other.
With Smart Thermostats, you can only control the functioning of the HVAC system, not the airflow. What this means is, that smart thermostats regulate the overall temperature of your HVAC system. And that’s a limitation when it comes to electricity saving.
Since most rooms or even areas have different ambient temperatures, only air regulation can save you money & provide optimal temperature in each room. And that is what smart vents do if you’ve smart vents installed everywhere in your house.
You can easily fix the temperature regulation issue in the areas that are causing ambient temperatures to be either high or low. They can close, open in some areas to increase or decrease the airflow so, the problem areas can get better circulation.
Although there is a limited amount of quality options for smart air vents, however, some do require a thermostat to work. You’ll find more information about those in our products listed above.
The bottom line is that Smart Thermostats & Smart vents are a pair that can be compatible with each other but are usually not required to be paired. If you want to learn more about thermostats check out our related guide on Best Programmable thermostats under 100$ or Best Programmable thermostats under 50$.
How Smart Vents can potentially help you save electricity bills?
The main reason behind electricity cost-saving from home smart vents is the way they work. While a smart thermostat alone can easily increase & decrease the temperature of the overall HVAC system as per requirement. However, Smart vents can regulate the airflow specifically for your rooms.
Some of the best smart vents will have proximity sensors & can be programmed according to room preferences, and if you have multiple smart vents they can even be closed automatically to provide other rooms with enough power.
So, basically, it does not stress the HVAC system itself to constantly push out the excess amount of heat or cold air to regulate the temperature as per claims. However, smart vents do not alter the functionality of the HVAC system means it will work at the same power unless you upgrade to a regulated one. But the air regulation can make your room cooler or hotter faster, and with smart vents, you can push more or less air in one room.
You can even remotely close these vents, however, it’s best to just program it to do it automatically to save electricity. Because with automatic functions & your preferred settings you’ll get the most optimal temperature in each room.
With an all smart vent set up, you can only focus the power of your HVAC system on the specific room that you are using. So, considering that the overall HVAC system is just cooling or heating that specific room, you’ll be able to save a lot of electricity because of less load on the overall system.
Is opting for Smart Vents worth the Investment?
We have heard this question a lot, and a lot of people have this thought in mind. That when we can manually close our vents & even some small controllable air vents exist, why should we opt for expensive smart vents?
Well to answer this question, the first thing is the hassle of closing & opening the vents manually, and most of them don’t even close properly. Moreover, even if you can remotely close a vent, you might not be able to get the perfect air regulation as you desired.
Let us explain this a bit, While smart home vents can automatically close & open, the manual or remote-controlled ones will have to be dealt with separately. So, if you have a problem area in your house that requires more effort from your ventilation system.
You will have to manually close different vents to increase the airflow to that specific room. Of course, having a few smart vents & few normal vents can help as well, since the air regulators of smart vents can open & restrict airflow, so the other vents will get optimal power but the system will not be that effective.
And the last thing is, sometimes the vents are placed at an uncomfortable position & if they are not
What more benefits does Smart Vents Provide?
Of course, Smart vents are not just limited to electricity saving & airflow regulation, they have many innovative features that you should know about. Some smart vents provide you with a detailed analysis of your airflow regulation & even electricity consumption.
According to most manufacturers of smart vents, they can help you save over 30% of electricity costs. However, this can only be true, if you are running an overall smart air vent system in your house.
But the thing is, home smart vents are not that cheap, and that’s the reason most people prefer installing one or two in the areas that require it the most. This idea is not bad as well, however, if you truly want to save electricity cost, and proper temperature regulation, installing an overall smart wireless vent system is the key.
So, our recommendation is, if you’re on a budget. Try to replace your regular home vents with smart home vents in the most problematic area, to begin with. Although later on, it’s recommended that you keep replacing vents so you can get a perfectly efficient ventilation system.
Are Smart Vents Dangerous for your HVAC system?
As per popular opinion, most people will advise you against buying smart vents. But why? Well, the reason is that most people believe which is somewhat true as well that if you have an overall smart vent system. The airflow restriction & regulation can end up damaging your HVAC System.
Wondering how? Let us explain, the HVAC system is designed to keep the whole house cool/warm. And since it’s designed to work like that, it will keep pushing air through the vents. If the overall home vents system is restricted.
The pressure can eventually affect the HVAC system and cause it to fail. However, you need to remember that is the worst-case scenario if you have closed the maximum amount of vents simultaneously. So, programming them better can solve this issue, and most smart vents have pressure monitoring systems to avoid this problem.
Because the other alternative is expensive for houses that are already constructed. Investing in a new HVAC system, bigger vents can be a huge dent in your pocket. So, Smart vents are a great alternative for this issue.
And more importantly, in our guide, you’ll find the right products with embedded pressure monitoring, so HVAC failure is not an issue with most smart vents. For now, this is just a myth that still circulates.
Want to learn more about how the HVAC system works? check out this resource.
Are Smart Vents only limited to AirFlow?
For now, you can only get smart vents for your managing airflow, however, there are some vents in the market that can manage floods, but they are not truly smart vents even though they are claimed to be. So, the truly smart vents are right now limited only to AirFlow management.
What to keep in mind while buying smart vents?
Smart vents are an innovative home technology, however, they are expensive as well. So, opting for the perfect smart vent from the get-go should be your top priority. While smart vents are not yet available in bulk when it comes to the product range.
However, you can still find some credible brands for smart vents in the market, which will be listed in our buying guide portion down below. But before you order, and start installing smart vents in your home keep the following in mind:
Budget
The first important thing to remember is as we have mentioned before that smart vents are an expensive investment. So, it all depends on your budget, If your budget is low & you still want to solve the airflow issue in some specific area.
We recommend purchasing the best smart vent for that specific area first, and after that, you can upgrade to other areas as well. While purchasing a wireless vent system, keep in mind that the vent itself usually isn’t standalone. You will most probably have to invest in an external sensor or some kind of external device for it to work.
Compatibility with Smart Thermostats & Smart homes
Although as previously mentioned that Smart Vents are usually compatible with most smart thermostats, but when it comes to smart homes compatibility might be an issue. And even with some thermostats, you might face compatibility issues. So, checking if your smart vent is compatible with your Smart homes, or thermostats is the key.
Especially when it comes to Smart Thermostats such as Nest, which can have compatibility issues with smart vents. So, keep that in mind while purchasing your vent.
Must have all the necessary features
All the best Smart Air vents will have all the necessary features for them to work efficiently. These features range from pressure monitoring, which is a very important feature as we have mentioned before to save your HVAC system from any mishaps.
Other features include sensors, this is the main selling point of smart vents, temperature & proximity sensors that can help make the workings of smart vents efficient. And the last thing to remember is the battery life of your smart vents.
While it’s a possibility to install wired smart vents, however, if you are replacing your old vents, you most probably will not have wires in your vents. So, opting for the best battery life is a must, so you don’t need to replace it often.
However, there are some Smart vents that offer hardwiring option, with that, you can easily avoid the hassle of replacing batteries. So, if you get a good enough smart vent that offers hardwiring, you will not have to worry about battery life. Moreover, make sure to avoid noise vents, and also if you want to sleep more peacefully it’s better to get some of the best white noise machines while you sleep.
You’ll find such products in our list as well, please refer to our buying guide section for more details.
Correct Size Matters
Just like your normal vents, Smart vents are offered in different shapes and sizes, and while replacing your original vents with Smart vents. Please do make sure that you order the correct size ones. As far as the availability of smart vents is concerned, you’ll find detailed information about smart vents sizes in our product guide section.
However, just to overview, most vent sizes range from 4” x 10”, 4” x 12” to 6” x 10”, 6” x 12”. But some of them come with trims that can extend it to the 12” x 12” size range.
Conclusion
Technology has changed our way of living by a lot, and smart devices are a new norm for everything. Whether it’s a phone, your home or even your car, you can literally control everything with smart devices. And Smart Air vents are another addition to this array of smart devices.
Although they are not perfect yet, however, with the rapid increase in new & innovative technologies. Smart vents will soon enough venture into a norm for people, and even though it’s just a small chunk, but it will also contribute to improving the lifestyle of people.
While they are not perfect yet, however, there are some good products that have been circulating the market for a few years now, and that’s why we decided to write this guide to inform you about them. We hope that you find this guide helpful. But before you go, check out our fact-checking & FAQ box at the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to replace every vent in your house to Install Smart Vents?
It all depends on your requirements & budget. Most people try to address the problem areas first as we have mentioned in this article. There is always some room in your house that will have issues with either heating or cooling or even low or high pressure. So, you can fix that issue by installing a single smart vent in that room. However, if you need an overall efficient system, replacing every vent is recommended.
Are there any smart floor vents?
It all depends on your ventilation system, if your ventilation system offers floor ducts you can use the same vents as smart floor vents. However, there are still no specific products for smart floor vents.
Are there any alternatives for Smart Vents?
For now, no other alternatives offer the same functionality, however, if you want to increase the airflow to some specific area. You can install a booster fan in your vents. Of course, it will not close and open automatically like the smart vent, however, it will be cheaper & will increase the airflow in your room.
How to Adjust Smart vents?
Just like the question “how to adjust furnace vents?” we hear this question a lot as well. Adjusting smart vents does not require manual labor. You only need to connect to your smart vent and program your specifics through the app. However, remember smart vents are automatically adjustable, you can remotely close these vents, however, it’s best to program it to your specific needs.
Are there any smart heat vents?
The uses of heat vents are not different than the cold ones, most vents work both ways since they are usually connected to a HVAC system.
What are flood vents?
Flood vents are vents that can help you get rid of excess water from piling up underneath your foundation. And it all depends on the flood vent dimensions
Now with all that information, why wait anymore? Choose a vent Install it into your home & start enjoying the perfect climate you always hoped for!
Hey! I’ve been a Home Improvement Expert for the past 40 years. Having smartened hundreds of homes through my TV shows “This Old House” and “Bob Vila”, I have gathered an expertise in the art of smart home gadgets, appliances, and everything else. Now, I want to share with the world what I have learnt!
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