Since its introduction, smart thermostat technology has come a long way, and the most recent units give their users an astonishing number of options. When you have a smart thermostat in your home, you gain ultimate control over your cooling and heating systems and precise feedback on your energy consumption. This is invaluable if you want to reduce your energy bills without compromising on your indoor comfort. Here is a short introduction to smart thermostat technology and a quick installation guide.

Understanding Smart Thermostats

A smart thermostat is designed to control home cooling and heating even when the occupants are not physically at home. This is achieved via a smartphone app and clever programming to give you control even when you’re stuck at work for an extra hour. In this example: a simple timer operated thermostat would just turn on as usual and waste an hours worth of energy for no reason. A smart thermometer can be easily altered remotely, saving money and giving unprecedented control to the user. In fact, as time goes on additional functionality is being added, and some systems can now be used for other home automation systems.

Key Smart Thermostat Systems

We have already touched on some of these features, but let’s expand a little on them here.

  • Remote connectivity: The smart thermostat can be remotely adjusted using a smartphone or web based application. This makes conserving energy and returning to a comfortable home simple.
  • Smart programming: In the past, it was necessary to program temperatures in advance to fit rigid schedules that couldn’t always be followed closely. A smart thermostat will actually learn about the heating and cooling behaviors in your home. Then it will be able to automatically set and then adjust temperatures based on the outdoor conditions, current occupancy and user preferences. This removes the need to micromanage each temperature change unless there are truly unforeseen circumstances.
  • Energy reporting: A smart thermostat can collect a great deal of data about how energy is used in your home. This data is easy to access via the app, and you can see in real time how much your cooling and heating costs. This will allow you to make extremely precise adjustments to save money without compromising your indoor comfort levels.

Installation Costs and Options

As you would expect, a smart thermostat is more expensive than an old fashioned timer model. The costs are quickly recovered with lower energy bills, and once you get used to the extra functionality, it can be easy to wonder how you lived without it. The technology is maturing at a rapid rate, and many big brands are now producing smart thermostats with a whole range of useful features. Although it is technically possible to install a smart thermometer yourself, it can be tricky without a decent amount of related experience. It’s a better idea to contact a local HVAC professional; they will be happy to recommend a good smart thermostat model and then they can install it for you.