Creature comforts have become more convenient thanks to technology. Although the act of getting up from your couch to turn off the light is relatively simple, rapid advancements in technology made it possible to do this with a tap of your smartphone. You can now order groceries, food for delivery, and hundreds of other activities thanks to these devices, allowing you to complete tasks without having to get up from your cozy seat on your sofa.
Another innovation that has taken US households by storm is the smart thermostat. Constantly changing the temperature at home and ensuring that you turn it off when no one’s home is a tedious task that’s easy to forget, which can, unfortunately, lead to higher energy bills. With a smart thermostat in your home, it does all the thinking and scheduling for you.
A standard thermostat allows you to set your home’s temperature through a control panel on your wall. Once you’ve chosen a temperature, your home will continue to stay there until you change it yourself. Meanwhile, a smart thermostat can do much more than that. Besides controlling your cooling and heating, you can do this remotely. It also learns your schedule and adjusts the temperature accordingly, factoring in when you leave and arrive from work, where you spend most of your time, and the temperature you prefer at certain times. You can turn your air conditioning on when you’re on the way home or program it to keep a comfortable temperature level depending on the number of people in your home.
Thanks to the wonders of a smart thermostat, you can explore high levels of customization while receiving critical insight into your energy usage patterns. The device stores data that reveal how much energy you use to keep your home comfortable during the winter and summer months, allowing you to track your consumption. It can even compare your use to the average household in your neighborhood.
During extreme weather, energy bills can skyrocket as your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system works hard to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home. With a smart thermostat installed, it manages your energy use by setting the temperature to your preferred level only when you’re home and in a specific room. Since it automatically turns off when you’re out of the house, you save even more money.
Another remarkable aspect of smart thermostats is that you don’t have to program it painstakingly to receive all its energy-saving benefits; in fact, you don’t have to adjust it at all. These thermostats learn your energy habits and preferences and develop a schedule for you after a few weeks. If you feel too cold or warm, you can just open the app on your smartphone and adjust the temperature.
Some thermostats are advanced enough to alert you when your AC stops working, which is crucial during sweltering heat. With this instant notification feature, you can immediately hire a repair technician to fix your AC and keep energy bills low, as broken HVAC systems can suck up more electricity, costing more money than necessary.
Smart thermostats can save you money in many ways. Since your home does not need to be heated or cooled all the time, your smart thermostat will adjust the temperature according to the weather and when you are home. If outside temperatures are pleasant, the thermostat will mimic it to lower energy consumption. You can also use your smart thermostat to schedule the periods to set the temperature lower or higher.
As you won’t be using your AC or heating as much, it also means you’ll be using less energy. Not only will you be enjoying cheaper utility bills, but you’ll also be reducing your impact on the environment. If you program your smart thermostat correctly, you can cut your energy bill by almost $200, netting you significant savings. However, if you’ve been meticulous about your energy usage, it can still reduce your consumption and bills, but not as drastically.
Even though smart thermostats come with many useful bells and whistles, they’re effortless to use. You can control it through the smartphone app or the device’s interface, just like regular thermostats.
However, it doesn’t work just by installing the panel on the wall. It must connect to your HVAC systems so it can directly control it according to your temperature preferences. One of the smart thermostat’s components will be plugged directly into this, so it communicates with another part: the thermostat control. These components allow you to adjust the temperature from anywhere, whether you’re on the couch or 30 miles away, as long as you have Internet access.
You can choose to install it yourself, or you can hire a professional to do it. Although the former is a much cheaper option, you’ll have to invest in some extra toolers and further research to make sure it goes smoothly. Some smart thermostat options come with easy-to-understand instructions, however, so you may want to explore this. You can also enlist the help of a tech-savvy friend with prior experience in installing smart thermostats.
If you want to go down the professional route, the average cost of installation is around $100 to $250. Keep in mind that it can run up to $400.
A few smart thermostats have been dominating the conversation for their utilities and benefits. One of these is the Google Nest Learning Thermostat, which creates an optimized schedule to cool or heat your home according to your preference. It retails for around $230-$250 depending on where you buy it.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat ranges from $199 to $249 depending on the exact model, but it has been highly praised for its energy-saving features. It also has a built-in Alexa speaker, which is useful for those who want to use the popular feature without buying a separate Amazon Echo. It also works with Google Assistant and Siri.
If you’re on a tight budget, you may want to consider the Nest Thermostat. At $130, it’s a more affordable choice compared to the high-end sub-$300 thermostats, but it’s an incredible entry-level thermostat that is easy to install and use while performing well.
Smart thermostats are fantastic additions to your home. They are incredibly intuitive and user-friendly devices that get more affordable each year while helping you save money and energy. Obstacles to reducing energy consumption like complex control schedules and forgetting to adjust the temperature have bumped up bills, but smart thermostats eliminate this without a problem. With all its many benefits, smart thermostats are definitely worth the investment.
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