Whether upgrading your old HVAC system or your thermostat has reached the end of its lifespan, you have many different options. One of the more popular thermostat options these days is the smart thermostat. Here, we will go over these benefits and how they can help you.
What Is a Smart Thermostat?
A smart thermostat does much more than control your home’s temperature. It is an electronic device that will help you fine-tune your home comfort while saving energy. These thermostats can easily integrate into modern smart home technology setups. While smart thermostats are more expensive than traditional programmable thermostats, they come with many great benefits for homeowners, both for well-being and energy efficiency.
Programmable Settings
One of the significant benefits of a smart thermostat is that it’s programmable. You can set different temperatures based on the day of the week and the time of day. This allows you to be more efficient with your energy usage by optimizing run times for when you’re at home and minimizing run times when you’re away.
For example, consider setting your air conditioner to 79 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime when no one is home. Then, have it adjust back to 72 degrees prior to your arrival so that your home is nice and comfortable when you get there. You can also program it to run less frequently when you’re away, ensuring you’re not wasting energy keeping your home cool when no one is there to enjoy it.
Alter Settings From Anywhere
One cool feature of a smart thermostat is that you can control it anywhere your smartphone or tablet has internet connectivity. If your plans change and you go home early one day, you can easily adjust your thermostat to adjust the temperature so it’s comfortable when you get there. Having this ability to change your thermostat settings from your phone can help to give you more control over your HVAC system without having to physically be at home.
Notification Alerts
Another convenient feature of a smart thermostat is that it can send you notification alerts when something is going on with your system. For example, if there’s a power outage and your system stops running, you’ll instantly receive an alert on your phone to let you know. If it’s time for a filter change, you’ll receive an alert reminding you to do so. Having this connectivity between your HVAC system and your smartphone can allow you to be better aware of the functioning of your HVAC system so you can catch problems while they’re small and easier to fix.
Some smart thermostats can also send an alert when the system isn’t running properly. This gives you an early heads-up to call for repairs before the problem worsens.
Energy Rebates
One lesser-known feature of investing in a smart thermostat for your home is it can make you eligible to receive a rebate. Many local utility companies provide customers with a rebate to help them recoup some of the cost of switching to a smart thermostat. This is to help encourage homeowners to be more energy efficient with their HVAC system usage. Hence, there is less of a demand on the local power grid.
Ease of Use
One of the biggest problems with many traditional programable thermostats is that they can be a bit challenging to read, especially when they’re put in locations with little light. With a smart thermostat, you can easily see all your settings, notifications, and alerts on your mobile device.
Machine Learning Technology
While not all smart thermostats have machine learning technology, many newer models are coming integrated with it. This AI technology allows your thermostat to monitor your temperature settings and make adjustments as your usage changes.
For example, let’s say you’ve been turning up your thermostat an hour early the last couple of days because you’re coming home from work earlier. After a couple of days of manually adjusting the thermostat, a smart thermostat with machine learning technology will take note of this adjustment and automatically turn up your thermostat an hour earlier than what you currently have programmed.
Real-Time Energy Monitoring
Smart thermostats can monitor your system’s energy usage in real-time. You can easily pull up this data on your smartphone to better understand ways to alter your habits to decrease your energy bills. Some smart thermostats will even make suggestions on how to be more eco-friendly with your HVAC usage. No longer do you have to guess how adjustments alter your energy usage. Now, you can look at your smartphone app and instantly see how adjustments change your energy usage.
Can Pair With Other Smart Technology
Another great benefit of smart thermostats is that they can pair with other types of smart technology to optimize your energy usage. For example, your smart thermostat can integrate with movement sensors to help determine which rooms you spend the most time in. It can focus on making key adjustments in those areas to optimize your comfort. Furthermore, a smart thermostat can be integrated with smart ceiling fans to help keep an even temperature throughout your home.
Another advantage of this smart technology integration is that you can link your HVAC system to your voice-activated systems. Smart thermostats can usually link to Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google devices so that you can adjust your temperature settings with the sound of your voice. This is super convenient when you’re busy or when your hands are dirty and you don’t want to manually adjust your thermostat.
HVAC Provider Integration
Some newer smart thermostats are coming along with integration to connect with your HVAC service provider. This will alert your service provider if there’s an issue with your HVAC system. It will also set up reminders for you on when you need to schedule service with your HVAC technician.
Are There Any Drawbacks?
Before making any major purchasing decision, it’s a good idea to understand any drawbacks that can come along with a new item. One of the biggest drawbacks of purchasing a smart thermostat is that it’s more expensive than a traditional programmable thermostat.
Smart thermostats also require users to connect their smartphones to the thermostat for optimal usage, which may be a bit challenging for those who aren’t technology-friendly. However, our technicians will ensure you thoroughly understand how to connect to and use your new thermostat with your mobile devices.
Expert Smart Thermostat Installation Service
Plumbing, Cooling & Electrical Nerds offers expert smart thermostat installation service to Cape Coral and throughout southern Florida. We can assist with all your climate control system needs, including furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, and ductless mini-splits.
Our technicians can also install indoor air quality systems such as air purifiers, whole house fans, and dehumidification systems, as well as air duct cleaning and repair. Ask about our home energy audits so you can better take control of your monthly bills. We also offer a full line of plumbing services, including installing or repairing fixtures, sewers, drains, and water lines.
Call our office to schedule your next service consultation today.
