SMART THERMOSTAT

By choosing the right energy efficient thermostat, homeowners can help improve overall HVAC system performance and increase the comfort of their home.

Smart Thermostat

It is estimated that 48% of home energy use is traced directly to heating and cooling, easily the biggest energy expense for homeowners, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The most effective way to save money on your energy bill is by reducing costs on your monthly heating and cooling expense, which can be achieved by choosing the right type of energy-efficient thermostat. As a result, homeowners can improve system performance which will decrease heating and cooling costs and provide greater control over home comfort.

Core Benefits of Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats can offer a wide variety of benefits from remote access and home automation, to algorithms that allow the device to learn and become “smarter.” Here are some important features present in smart thermostats that serve to make life more comfortable:

Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings – According to Energy Star^®, the average homeowner using a certified smart thermostat can expect to reduce more than 8% of their heating and cooling – potentially saving around $50 a year. Savings may be greater depending on factors such as climate, personal comfort preferences, HVAC equipment and occupancy.
Convenience – With internet-enabled thermostats, homeowners can wirelessly monitor, control, and remotely adjust the home’s heating and cooling temperature on smart phones and tablets from anywhere, anytime – whether you’re lying on the couch or on the beach. Also, voice assistants (Amazon^® Alexa, Apple^® Siri, and Google^® Assistant) are supported by many smart thermostats and allow you to do things like adjust the temperature as well as ask for the current temperature using voice commands.
Enhanced functionality – smart thermostats vary in terms of functional benefits but one thing they all have in common is that they offer smart functionality that surpasses the limits of a traditional non-programmable thermostat. Some examples include utilizing geofencing to know if you’re home or not, local weather forecasts for outside temperature, and algorithms to understand and predict your daily habits. With this knowledge the device can automatically adjust the temperature accordingly.
Environmental Impact – If more homeowners would choose to go with smart thermostats, it would reduce our carbon footprint and start reversing environmental damage. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if all thermostats achieved the 8% energy reduction from using an Energy Star^® thermostat, it would offset 13 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, which is about equal to the emissions of 1.2 million motor vehicles per year.

Smart Thermostat Features and Capabilities

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular features of smart thermostats today. With the industry continuously evolving, new capabilities are constantly being introduced.

App-controlled – Getting out of bed to manually adjust the temperature is a thing of the past. Nowadays, most smart thermostats can be remotely controlled via an app. Perfect for when you’re too tired to get up, or are not home all day and don’t want your system running constantly.
Geofencing – This technology uses your smart phone's location to let the thermostat know when you’re inside or outside a virtual boundary within the home. With geofencing, your thermostat will adjust the temperature, so you don’t heat or cool an empty home. Just set your preferred temperatures and the thermostat will trigger when your device is inside or outside of the invisible perimeter. If you want your thermostat to automatically adjust as you come and go because you don’t follow a set schedule, then this feature is for you.
Sensors/motion detection – A lot of smart thermostats now have humidity sensors that detect humidity levels and adjust accordingly. Some options include separate wireless room sensors to measure room temperatures around the house. Motion detection is also utilized to adjust the temperature whenever someone is in a room. Motion sensors can alert the thermostat to display whenever you enter the room.
Touch display – Most smart thermostats include a touch display. This bright touchscreen makes it easy to adjust and program the thermostat. The large display shows the date, time and temperature, among other things. By simply touching the screen, you will be able to view the menu and adjust settings.
Integration – One great aspect of smart devices is integration and how these products work together – voice integration for instance. Another popular feature among smart devices is IFTTT (If This, Then That). This means that if one action happens then the reaction is to trigger the device. For example, you can create automation that turns on the AC/heat unit when your thermostat reaches a certain temperature with factors including GPS location, leaving or arriving, and local weather forecasts, to name a few
Voice assistant – Smart thermostats can support Amazon^® Alexa, Apple^® Siri, and Google^® Assistant voice commands. If you have one of these voice assistants, you can adjust the temperature and ask for the current temperature with your voice. Smart thermostats even have built-in voice control for Amazon^® Alexa. This means you can ask for the score to the sports game, know the weather, seek the news, play music, and anything else, all from your smart thermostats

Before You Buy

If you are ready to buy a smart thermostat, here are two critical points you should consider before buying:

Alternative options – Smart thermostat technology has been around since 2007 and the industry has exploded since then. Be sure to read reviews and comparison shop competing products. You’ll definitely find differences in functionality, price and customer satisfaction. You may not want to pay for features you will not use – which brings us to our second point.
Compatibility – It's standard practice for smart devices to integrate and pair with one another. Make sure that your home is equipped to offer you the full functionality of the thermostat you’re considering. For instance, whether or not your current setup contains a C (common) wire which almost all smart thermostats require. The C wire is used to supply constant power to the thermostat, but some older homes may not have one since older, traditional thermostats did not require one.

Also, be prepared to buy any applicable accessories needed for the thermostat. For instance, you may not want to pay extra for a smart thermostat with the integrated voice control feature if you don’t have Google Home^® or Amazon^® Alexa. Similarly, you may have your eye on a thermostat that can be controlled through an app…but only if you have the hub, which might be sold separately. In short, make sure that you’ve sufficiently researched before purchasing so that you don’t end up with a feature-rich product whose features go unused.

In Conclusion

Smart thermostats can go a long way in making our homes more energy efficient and more comfortable. Be sure to check for compatibility and features that integrate seamlessly with your current smart devices.

If you would like to learn more about how to increase the comfort in your home, please browse other articles in our Learning Library.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. Heating and cooling no longer majority of U.S. home energy use. Retrieved from https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=10271

SMART THERMOSTAT

Smart Thermostat

Core Benefits of Smart Thermostats

Smart Thermostat Features and Capabilities

Before You Buy

In Conclusion

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