More and more people are automating their home’s central functions, such as a security system that allows remote monitoring on a smartphone, remote control of electrical sockets to turn appliances on and off when no one’s home, and much more.
Today, we’ll talk about smart thermostats and how they work with your phone and computer.
What are the benefits of smart thermostats?
You can adjust the temperature at home via mobile phone or computer
Thermostats have been programmable for years: you can put in your family’s set schedule, especially for regular school and work weeks, so you’re not overpaying for heating or air conditioning.
But sometimes schedules change or everyone’s unexpectedly away for several hours.
With a smart thermostat, you can drop your home’s temperature to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit (a good compromise between cool enough to make significant savings and warm enough to both keep the house well-protected and not eat up energy when you raise the temperature on your way home).
From anywhere.
You can get better insight into how different rooms use heat
More complex and customizable systems don’t just give everybody better control over their preferred temperature, humidity, and ventilation. They also give better data.
Many smart systems can be configured to send you an alert if a given area is taking more energy than it should to heat up, which can help you find hidden drafts, poor insulation, and more.
They track energy use
A monthly energy bill always has a bit of a mystery in it, because it tells you your home’s total energy usage but can only estimate how much energy was used between the heating, lighting, and appliances.
Smart thermostats can track energy use with far more precision, so you can better make a cost-benefit analysis regarding any energy-saving projects.
But are you getting the right smart system for your A/C usage?
Increased technology can bring a lot of customization and convenience, and many people are upgrading their homes with smart thermostats, energy readers, and sensors.
Soif you’ve been considering making the switch, make sure you add some potential negative reasons s to your list of positive reasons.
It adds another layer of complication
No matter what can be said of single-function devices, they’re usually simple, and simple might be best for several heating systems.
The more you interconnect different appliances and systems, especially if you add them in one at a time or wrangle several different systems into one interface, the more you might have to wade through if something breaks.
For example. a heater that won’t heat correctly could be malfunctioning in any number of ways that regular heaters do, but it could also be:
- An accidental reset
- A programming bug
- A malfunctioning thermostat
- Another appliances playing havoc with your heater’s sensors
You might not use most of the features
Smart thermostats and automated home systems are becoming more and more complex.
Some of those changes can make your schedule more convenient, such as sensors that let you know if something’s wrong when you’re not at home.
But other customizations, like complex scheduling, changing the temperature on a room-by-room basis, and others, probably aren’t what you’re looking for.
Too many features might overcomplicate your schedule, as you spend weeks customizing the settings in programs that send you too many alerts and create unexpected changes, or they’ll fall to the wayside because they don’t integrate with your lifestyle.
Other factors
Other factors, such as:
- Price
- Potential cost of repairs
- Shorter life expectancy of digital devices
Are probably on your list too.
Conclusion
Whilst smart thermostats can make a lot of positive changes to how you heat and power your house, they need to outweigh all of the short- and long-term negatives.
You’ll also have to understand your personal situation and requirements, so that you get something that works for you, and not just the best or cheapest option.
Our smart thermostat experts can help you find what you’re looking for and get it installed before the next weather shift.
Why not Contact Us at (651) 294-7798 today and tell us how we can help you to find the specific pros and cons of different units.
