What if your thermostat is smarter than you are?

One of the problems I have always had with smart thermostats is that they seemed to be smarter than I am. Either that, or they were just contrary, arbitrarily raising and lowering the temperature at their whim rather than my command.

So I don't have a programmable thermostat.

But as the technology improves, perhaps you'll find one that you can bend to your beck and call, or at least your climate choice.

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Tecca recently spotlighted four new thermostats that are smarter than their predecessors, including some that will learn your habits without being told. Now if they would just take out the trash.

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Here are some of the latest thermostats:

• The Nest, which Tecca describes as "one of the darlings of the thermostat world," is supposed to learn your schedule and set itself accordingly. You can program it from your smartphone or your computer. Not only does it take your habits into account when it sets the temp, it measure ambient light, humidity and motion to fine-tune its choices. If you have two thermostats, they will talk to each other (presumably NOT about what they saw in your bedroom). The thermostat costs $249, not including installation. Does it work? Sometimes. You can read an eight-part series about one user's experience at Wired Prairie. This one has gotten a lot of attention because its designers also helped design the iPod.
• The EcoBee Smart Thermostat is similar, except more expensive ($469) and harder to install. It has Wi-fF and an LED touch-screen control. It is, however, easy to use, its makers say.
• The Homeworks Radio Wireless Thermostat is a cheaper option and easy to install yourself. You can control it with your smartphone. At the moment, it's $123.79 on Amazon.
• Honeywell's Prestige 2.0 Comfort System asks you questions about your life and then sets up a program. You can program it with your computer or smartphone. But, says Tecca, you'll need a professional installer. Cost is about $313.

There you have it: thermostats that may be smarter than you are.

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Will they really help you save money? Maybe. J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly took a look last year at competing claims about the financial benefit of programmable thermostats and came up with a rousing: It depends on how you use them.

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He concluded that you can save just as much money by using your old-fashioned manual thermostat wisely. But you might not be able to call that one up on your iPad.