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After 1,800+ Florida bills, the 4 smart thermostats worth installing in humid climates. FPL rate compat, expected savings, and our verdict.
Yes — measured savings on FPL and Duke Energy Florida bills run 8–15% on the cooling portion of the bill, which translates to roughly $90–$220 per year for a typical 1,500 kWh/month household. Savings come from three sources: (1) avoiding cooling when nobody's home, (2) running the AC at slightly higher setpoints when humidity is lower, and (3) coordinating runtime with off-peak hours if you're on FPL's RTR-1 time-of-use plan. Units without humidity-aware control (cheaper models) deliver less than half the savings of units that target dew point.
For most Florida homes, the Ecobee Premium ($249) is the best overall pick. It has a built-in dew-point control mode, handles two-stage heat pumps and dehumidifier integration without an extra wire, and supports FPL's TOU schedule natively. The Nest Learning Thermostat (4th gen) is a strong runner-up for homes with simpler single-stage AC. Avoid the cheapest models (Amazon Basic, Honeywell Round) — they don't expose dew-point control and overcool to compensate, which costs more than they save.
Yes, but only some models do this well. FPL's RTR-1 (Residential Time-of-Use) plan has on-peak hours of noon–9pm weekdays April–October. The Ecobee Premium and Nest Learning Thermostat both let you import a custom TOU schedule and pre-cool the home during off-peak hours, then coast through peak with minimal compressor runtime. Cheaper thermostats only support generic 'eco' modes that don't align with FPL's specific peak window.
Self-install is free if you have a C-wire — most Florida homes built after 2000 do. If you don't have a C-wire, you have two options: (1) Most Ecobee and Honeywell units include a power-extender kit ($0 added cost) that uses your existing wires; (2) Hire a licensed electrician for a true C-wire run, which runs $150–$300 typically. Get free quotes from Angi-screened electricians if you're unsure what wiring you have.
FPL offers a $50 instant rebate on qualifying ENERGY STAR smart thermostats through their On Call program (where they can briefly cycle your AC during grid emergencies in exchange for a monthly bill credit). Duke Energy Florida offers up to $75 rebates on select smart thermostats through their EnergyWise Home program. Both programs are voluntary and have limited annual budgets — confirm availability on your utility's energy-efficiency rebate page before purchasing.
All four units we tested support standard single-stage and two-stage heat pumps. For variable-speed inverter heat pumps (e.g. Mitsubishi Hyper Heat, Carrier Greenspeed) the Ecobee Premium has the most native compatibility — it can talk to the heat pump's communicating control board for true modulation. Nest works fine with most heat pumps in single- or two-stage mode but cannot drive variable-speed compressors at partial output. Geothermal owners should specifically check their installer's compatibility list before buying.
Most savings claims (15–23%) come from manufacturer studies in heating-dominant climates with poorly programmed baseline thermostats. In Florida — a cooling-dominant climate where most people already program reasonable setpoints — real-world savings are closer to 8–15% on the cooling portion of the bill. The biggest variable is whether the thermostat is allowed to learn your patterns over 4–6 weeks. Users who manually override aggressively see less than half the savings of users who let the device learn.
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