  We present a conjugate analysis of two different dark energy models
investigating both their agreement with recent data and their thermodynamical
properties. The successful match with the data allows to both constrain the
model parameters and characterize their kinematical properties. As a novel
step, we exploit the strong connection between gravity and thermodynamics to
further check models viability by investigating their thermodynamical
quantities. In particular, we study whether the cosmological scenario fulfills
the generalized second law of thermodynamics and, moreover, we contrast the two
model asking whether the evolution of the total entropy is in agreement with
the expectation for a closed system. As a general result, we discuss whether
thermodynamic constraints can be a valid complementary way to both constrain
dark energy models and differentiate among rival scenarios.
