Have you heard about smart thermostats? Don’t worry, you don’t need to be savvy to benefit! Read on to learn why you need these in your home!
Smart thermostats provide energy savings with ease to make sure you’re always comfortable.
Besides energy savings, smart thermostats give you complete control over your home’s comfort system. Through connected apps, you have control of your home’s HVAC system from anywhere you have internet access. By choosing the right thermostat and apps, you will also have detailed insight into your system’s performance. How convenient is that?!
Energy Saving
Unlike the hassle of programmable thermostats, smart devices teach themselves. Once installed, the thermostat takes a few days to learn your temperature preferences and occupancy habits.
The data you access will show you when your HVAC system runs the most. If those time periods occur when your home isn’t occupied, you can easily change the indoor temperature wherever you are to save energy and money. Reducing the amount of unnecessary work your HVAC system does also reduces the wear and tear, which increases its lifetime and lowers the cost of repairs. That’s a win!
Smart Home System Integration
Some smart thermostats are compatible with devices like Amazon’s Echo or Google Home. You can ask Alexa to change the temperature from anywhere in your home, whether it’s in the kitchen as you cook, or from the bedroom on a cold night.
Thermostats that work with smart home hubs can also coordinate with your garage door or exterior doors to change the temperature at the same time. This feature works especially well in a well-insulated home since they take less time to heat or cool.
Pretty awesome, right?
Improved Comfort
Many models of smart thermostats offer remote sensors you can place in any room or level, which helps to regulate the temperature of your whole house.
Placing a remote sensor in a room that is often uncomfortable to you will set the thermostat to cool or heat the air to the temperature you want in that area. However, unless you have a zoned HVAC system in your home, this ability is likely to raise your energy costs, but it will increase your comfort and give you control over the thermal conditions in that particular room.
Smart Thermostats Learn Your Needs
Smart devices learn your habits over several days, which eliminates the need to manually program the temperature based on when you are home. The Nest, for example, uses a sensor that detects when your home is occupied and when it’s empty. It uses this data to initiate temperature setbacks that save energy.
The sensors on smart thermostats simplified programming. They can tell when your home is empty, and set the temperature back automatically. Should someone come home unexpectedly, the sensor will turn the system back on.
System Compatibility
While you can install a smart thermostat with a complete system replacement, smart thermostats also work well with most older systems. Thermostat wiring is normally the limiting factor with regard to compatibility. Our TemperaturePro Comfort Specialist can help you discover which thermostats will work.
There are also advantages to installing a smart thermostat made by your equipment’s manufacture. Their advantages lie in their ability to report to you how the system is operating. You’ll receive alerts about when it needs professional maintenance, if a component isn’t functioning at full capacity, or even when to change the air filter.
Do Heat Pumps Work with Smart Thermostats?
Yes! Certain types of smart thermostats work with heat pumps.
During the summer, heat pumps work just like air conditioners, but that all changes in the winter when they switch to heat.
When you choose a smart thermostat to work with your heat pump, be sure that it has the capacity to override the emergency heat setting. The technical term is an intelligent or adaptive recovery thermostat. You may also see the term “balance point” used with compatible smart thermostats. Your TemperaturePro technician will know the best brands and types of thermostats to use with a heat pump to maximize savings in the heating mode.
Ready to Lower Your Energy Costs?
TemperaturePro technicians and Comfort Specialists can help you select the most suitable smart thermostat for your HVAC system, lifestyle, and energy saving goals. If you’re ready to install one in your home now… give us a call!