Everything You Need to Know About Smart Thermostats
With the rising popularity of smart watches and smart phones, it seems all our gadgets these days are getting a little more intelligent. That can now include your thermostat.
Smart thermostats are the latest innovation in energy efficiency.
So how does a smart thermostat differ from your current thermostat? Any thermostat allows you to adjust the temperature in your home, cooling things down in the summer and heating them up in the winter. However, smart thermostats, like the popular Nest, learn your patterns and can be adjusted when you’re away from your home.
When you leave for work in the morning, a smart thermostat can tweak the temperature for your absence during the day and cool the area down or heat it up just before you head home. This allows you to walk into a comfortable, climate-controlled environment.
If you prefer to sleep in a cooler environment, a smart thermostat learns during which hours you like the house a few degrees cooler. Once a smart thermostat learns your patterns, it puts your heating and cooling on autopilot, allowing you to go about your day in comfort.
Smart thermostats can also be controlled remotely, often from an app, so you can adjust the temperature in your home from anywhere in the world. A few models are even voice controlled, meaning you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your couch to adjust the temperature.
On many smart thermostats, when you adjust the temperature, the device tells you exactly how long it will take to achieve that desired temperature.
Smart thermostats also help you keep up with how much you’re spending to heat and cool your home, so you can adjust the temperature for immediate savings.
While smart thermostats tend to be more expensive up front than your standard thermostat, they can pay for themselves in money saved over time. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates homeowners with programmable thermostats save up to $180 a year in energy costs.
If you’d like to learn more about how installing a smart thermostat can save you money, contact the Houston AC specialists at Richmond’s Air today.
Also, be sure to check out our related blog post: Is a Smart Thermostat Right for You?