An energy-saving thermostat is an excellent way to cut energy costs, with plenty of options on the market that you should carefully consider before making your selection. Some features to look out for include clear displays with backlit displays, user-friendly controls and smart home compatibility.
When choosing the right energy-saving thermostat, keep these key factors in mind. For more expert tips on thermostat installation and selection, check out Anderson Air.
1. Smart Sensors
Smart thermostats have become an excellent way to monitor and adapt to the unique needs of their owners over time, making life simpler for homeowners with HVAC systems that track performance metrics or use basic LCD displays that offer limited information.
This represents a considerable upgrade over older thermostats, which often need to provide this data or have hard-to-read LCD displays with limited information that is difficult to interpret.
Some smart thermostats also come equipped with additional safeguards and bonus functionality through their companion apps, including setting weekly, daily or hourly schedules through them to give more control over home temperatures without forgetting to make changes before leaving for work.
Others might offer geofencing technology, which uses your phone’s GPS signal to detect when you are heading home and turn on the heating accordingly. In contrast, still others feature occupancy sensors to adjust temperatures based on who is present or not in the house.
2. Wi-Fi Connectivity
Wi-Fi thermostats enable remote control of heating and cooling systems from smartphones or tablets, as well as energy savings by tracking usage patterns and detecting inefficiencies.
Thermostats equipped with this feature can send alerts when they detect an issue that needs to be addressed, such as sudden temperature shifts or lack of airflow from vents. This can save money in repairs in the future by alerting you before damage occurs and costly repairs become necessary.
Wi-Fi-connected thermostats can also serve as helpful reminders for homeowners when to change the air filter or schedule HVAC service to help ensure a comfortable and healthy home year-round.
Some Wi-Fi thermostats can even ‘learn’ your habits, adapting their heating or cooling according to your schedule and eliminating the worry of returning home to an overheated home or incurring skyrocketing energy costs during an extended vacation.
3. Energy Savings
An energy-saving thermostat is an effective way to bring down utility expenses. According to estimates from the Department of Energy, homeowners could save as much as 10% annually by setting their thermostat seven to ten degrees lower for eight hours each day and automating this process via programmable or smart thermostat.
Many smart thermostats also include energy-saving features like occupancy sensors, geofencing, and learning capabilities to maximize energy savings.
Occupancy sensors help minimize energy waste by only heating or cooling occupied rooms. Geofencing automatically adjusts your thermostat based on where you are, so your home will remain at an energy-saving lower setting while sleeping or away at work.
4. Remote Control
Modern thermostats enable you to manage their settings remotely. This feature means that even when on business travel or when your child’s team practice is postponed and plans change unexpectedly, you can still make necessary changes to keep your home comfortable.
This also ensures you won’t waste energy by leaving the air conditioning running while you and your family are out and about – as this smart system can automatically reduce energy use by setting temperatures to more eco-friendly settings while you’re gone, then lower them an hour before everyone returns so the house remains comfortable for welcome home time.
When choosing a remote-access thermostat, ensure it works seamlessly with all of the devices and systems already used in your home. That way, you won’t have to learn a whole new ecosystem! For optimal performance, look for options compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit – these should all work great.
5. Voice Control
Voice control integration with virtual assistants enables easy adjustments without a smartphone app. Giving the thermostat a command that will handle everything is a terrific solution for those with limited mobility or those who wish to operate their heating and cooling systems.
Homeowners can manage and adjust their heating and cooling settings with the use of voice-controlled thermostats, which also provide energy usage insights, to cut costs and consumption. This means less money wasted on utilities!
Voice-activated thermostats make an excellent central hub to manage other smart home devices like music systems and security cameras, creating an interconnected smart home experience.
6. Geo-Fencing
Geofencing is an innovative feature of smart thermostats that contributes to energy savings, convenience and personalization. By using your smartphone’s location services to detect when you enter or leave the house, geofencing allows heating and cooling adjustments to optimize energy usage and save on costs.
Geofencing works by creating an invisible border around your home that, when crossed, triggers pre-programmed actions – for instance, lowering temperature automatically as soon as you leave and raising it again when you’re nearing home.
Geofencing is ideal for people whose schedule changes frequently or those who follow more flexible routines.
It can also be integrated with smart hubs or security systems that combine all your home’s devices into one network for convenient control. In this instance, geofencing may use Wi-Fi or cellular data instead of GPS to avoid draining smartphone battery power.
