Three Things A Smart Thermostat May Offer That Your Current Thermostat May Not Be Able To Do

If you are looking for ways to save money around your home, you may want to first look at your heating and cooling cost. These functions account for approximate 48% of the total amount of energy you use. One of the easiest ways to reduce these costs is to be in control of your thermostat at all times. But what if someone else bumps it up or down or you forget to set it? With a smart thermostat you will not have these worries. It will do things that your current thermostat will not do, and these functions may result in cost savings to you. 

What Is A Smart Thermostat?

On the market, there are three basic types of thermostats. They are:

  • Manual thermostats - These are those that you have to walk up to and manually change or adjust. If you want to raise or lower the temperature in your home when you are not present, you must remember to do so prior to walking out of the door.
  • Programmable thermostats - With these you are able to preset, or program in your heating and cooling requirements based on various times throughout the day. Some may only allow you to have one schedule, others may allow you to choose a weekday schedule and then another on the weekend. Still others may allow you to input seven different programs, or one for each day of the week.
  • Smart thermostats - Unlike traditional programmable thermostats that run your preset programs whether you are home or not, smart thermostats provide you with the ability to change or override your programming from any internet connected device such as your smart phone, tablet, or computer, and much more.

What Can A Smart Thermostat Do?

Just like any other product on the market, the functions and features of smart thermostats vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Increased functionality often comes with a higher price tag attached, but this higher price may be warranted based on the savings you may be able to realize with your energy bill. Here are a few of the features that have the potential to save you the most.

Some smart thermostats may be able to learn your behaviors. There are two basic types of smart thermostats. These are:

  • Those that learn
  • Those that do not learn

Those that are able to learn your behaviors using the temperatures you choose, built in sensors, as well as your smart phone locations to sense when someone is home and when they are not. These learned behaviors allow your thermostat to automatically choose the temperatures needed for your system to work within optimal energy saving modes all while keeping your family comfortable.

If your home is set up on a zoned system, with remote sensors your thermostat will even be able to raise or reduce the temperatures just in the rooms that are currently being occupied. Be aware, you may have to purchase a smart thermostat per zone, as most that are currently on the market will only control one zone.  

Smart thermostats may provide you with your patterns of usage. Once you have installed a smart thermostat it will be able to provide you with detailed reports that will allow you to look at where and when you are using the most heating and cooling energy. Some of them will even give you recommendations on the optimal adjustments that will allow you to reduce your energy usage even further without sacrificing your family's comfort.

Smart thermostats allow you to monitor and change settings remotely. No matter if your thermostat is able to learn your behaviors, or is programmable, there will be times when your family's patterns change, or you simply need to override your thermostat's settings. Not only can you do this from anywhere in the world that you have internet access, you can do it from the comfort of your easy chair in front of the television. If you get chilly or too warm, you no longer have to make a trek to the thermostat to turn it up or down. Simply whip out your phone and make the necessary adjustments.

If you are looking to make a small investment in your home that has the potential to pay off large dividends in the future, consider installing a smart thermostat. You may be amazed at the energy savings you may be able to achieve. Find more information by going here

About Me

Keeping Kids Comfortable

I grew up in a small, rural town. The elementary school I attended contained less than two hundred students. And, this small school educated children from kindergarten to the seventh grade. The actual school building was extremely old and run down. Because I grew up in the southern United States, the spring and summer months were often extremely hot and humid. Unfortunately, the air conditioning system at my school was hopelessly inadequate. I remember sweating to the point of dehydration inside the classroom on a number of occasions. Whenever I was hot, I didn’t feel much like paying attention to my teachers. If you are the principle of a school, you should do everything in your power to keep your students cool and comfortable during the warm weather months. On this blog, you will discover the best HVAC systems to install in schools.