Why Smart Thermostats Are Worth It

If you want a way to save money and energy in your home, it might be a wise investment to explore getting a smart thermostat. These devices can do everything from monitor when you leave the house, so that it doesn’t throw away electricity heating or cooling an empty home, to adjusting energy usage based on how many people are in a room or what time of day it is. We’ll cover what a smart thermostat is, how it runs and why it’s worth it to purchase one. We’ll also talk about how it can help you save money on your energy bills by decreasing energy consumption.

What Is a Smart Thermostat?

A smart thermostat is an automated device that allows you to do it all from adjusting your heating and cooling settings for various times of day, to tracking when people are in the house, so it isn’t wasting energy by heating or cooling an empty home. Most smart thermostats have learning capabilities, which means they pay attention to how you adjust your settings and make automatic adjustments over time based on what they learn from you. A smart thermostat connects to Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to change and monitor your energy usage from just about anyplace.

How Do Smart Thermostats Work?

A smart thermostat has learning algorithms and can connect with other smart home technology, such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit, for even better control over your comfort. They’re compatible with most systems, such as home heating and air conditioning. Smart thermostat features consist of a temperature sensor that can detect when the home is vacant, and then automatically change to an energy-efficient setting. Your smart thermostat may be able to geofence with your phone to know when you’re at home or away. A smart thermostat does tasks like adapt more for rooms that are full or have more people in them, as well as monitor what time of day it is so it knows how much heating or air conditioning should be used.

Are Smart Thermostats Worth It?

For many people, the answer is yes. If you do a lot of travel or are gone for long hours during the day, it may be worth your money to get one of these thermostats. You could save a lot, especially if you forget to change it when you leave for the office or go out of town for the weekend. You won’t have to worry about whether your smart thermostat is on the appropriate program, or if you remembered to adjust the temperature setting before you went out. It doesn’t require much effort from you, but you’ll see it in lower energy bills.

Smart Thermostats vs. Programmable Thermostats

Most homeowners have a traditional programmable thermostat, but 40% of them aren’t set correctly. This means you could be missing chances to save on heating and cooling costs. Smart thermostats are handy because they learn your schedule and automate heating and cooling that corresponds. You can set a similar schedule on a programmable thermostat. But it’s more effort to program your thermostat manually. A smart thermostat conveniently adjusts and progressively changes the temperature inside your home for the biggest energy savings. If you manually change a programmable thermostat, you can overburden your HVAC system and make it work harder to meet your changes.

Do Smart Thermostats Save Energy?

Yes, since your smart thermostat will learn from your temperature preferences and day-to-day activities to make a schedule that reduces heating and cooling costs. You don’t have to do much as your thermostat does all the work for you while conserving money. You can acquire identical energy savings with a programmable thermostat, but it’s going to require a little bit more work than a smart thermostat. To put together a schedule on programmable models, we suggest following these guidelines from ENERGY STAR® to save energy.

Recommended Temperature Settings for Your Heating System

• • Wake: Below 70 degrees.

• • Day: Set back at least 8 degrees, if no one is home.

• • Evening: Higher than 70 degrees.

• • Sleep: Set back at least 8 degrees.

Recommended Temperature Settings for Your Cooling System

• • Wake: Greater than 78 degrees.

• • Day: Set up at least 7 degrees, if no one is there.

• • Evening: Lower than 78 degrees.

• • Sleep: Increase at least 4 degrees.

As you can see, you don’t have to get a smart thermostat to spend less on your energy bill. All you need is a programmable thermostat, but it’s essential to note that any savings may come at the expense of your comfort and convenience.

Do Smart Thermostats Save Money

Nest, one of the most popular smart thermostat manufacturers, says its smart thermostat saves U.S. homeowners about:

• • 10-12% on your heating bill

• • 15% on your cooling bill

• • $131 to $145 on your energy bill annually

Your smart thermostat will give you a monthly heating and cooling report, which usually compares you to other residences in your community. Your possible savings vary based on your home, where you live, how much insulation you have and your preferred temperature settings. You might experience average savings, significant savings or somewhere in the middle. If you’re noticing you’re only seeing small savings on energy costs, you might be optimizing for energy efficiency currently. This includes switching off your HVAC system when you’re not at home or turning your thermostat up/down when you’re asleep. Smart thermostats make this simple through their hands-off process that gradually shifts the temperature. If you’re at home a lot, it might not save you money on energy costs as is the point in an automated, energy-efficient schedule.

How to Get a Smart Thermostat Rebate

Many utility companies give rebates to homeowners who install energy-saving, ENERGY STAR-certified equipment like a smart thermostat. The rebate total varies by company, but in many instances, it will take care of most or all the expense. To find out more, check your utility company’s website for rebate information.

Depend On the Experts for Your Smart Thermostat Needs

Installing a smart thermostat is an investment, but it can save you money in the long run. If you’ve been considering installing one and want to know if they work as promised, we offer free home comfort assessments. Call our Experts at 780-800-9047 to schedule yours now!