UPGRADE! UPGRADE! UPGRADE!
WHEN IT PAYS TO UPGRADE YOUR THERMOSTAT
Your thermostat plays an important role in keeping your home
comfortable throughout the year. After all, the thermostat is the central hub
for controlling the temperature you want to keep your home at regardless of
whether it is hot or cold outside. Unfortunately, the thermostat that you have
now might not be doing as good of a job as you think, which could be costing
you money. If you want to get the most out of your heating and cooling and save
some money in the long term, it may be time to upgrade your thermostat to a
model that is a little bit smarter.
What Are Smart Thermostats?
Smart thermostats are programmable thermostats that give you
a greater amount of control over your home environment. These thermostats can
automatically adjust the temperature at different times during the day,
ensuring that you are not spending extra money heating or cooling your home
while everyone is at work, at school, or in bed asleep. This can result in
significant energy cost savings over time.
Thermostats and Sensors
One thing that makes many smart thermostats even better is
the ability to pair them with various sensors around your home. Some
thermostats can be combined with motion sensors to automatically adjust the
temperature when they do not detect any movement for a specified period. This
allows for more dynamic control over your heating and cooling, meaning that you
do not have to specifically program in every time that the temperature should
go up or down. They can also be connected to smart home hubs and virtual assistants
like Alexa or Google Assistant so that you can add temperature changes to the
routines you have set up.
Smarter Heating and Cooling
Many smart thermostats offer the ability to add additional
temperature sensors throughout your home, giving the device a better view of
what the entire home environment is like as opposed to just the temperature near
the thermostat. In many cases you can even set up different zone tolerances
using these sensors, specifying which areas need to be kept at certain
temperatures and which areas can have a bit more variance. This allows the
smart thermostat to better decide when to turn on the heat or the air, making
your entire home more comfortable in the process.
Maintenance Monitoring
HVAC repairs can be expensive, and regular maintenance is
recommended to catch potential problems before they have a chance to become
major issues. A smart thermostat can help with this. Many smart thermostat
models include maintenance monitors that not only keep track of how long it has
been since your last maintenance inspection but can also identify other
potential problems. Some even track little things that you can do yourself like
changing air filters regularly to keep your system in top shape.
Is It Time to Upgrade?
There have been several studies done on cost savings with
smart thermostats and they all offer up the same general results: Upgrading to
a smart thermostat can have a notable impact on your energy costs over the
course of the year. There is obviously an up-front cost to them, especially if
you add sensors or additional temperature nodes, but they will pay for
themselves in savings over time. Keep an eye on your energy costs and
maintenance bills to get an idea of what you are paying every year with your
current thermostat, then consider whether upgrading to a smart thermostat might
help you to get those costs under control.
Smart Thermostat Installation
While it is possible to DIY a smart thermostat upgrade,
bringing in an experienced installer can make a big difference when it comes to
the ease of installation and the ideal setup of any additional sensors and
thermal nodes you want in your home. Fortunately, HomeKeepr can help you find
the right installer for your needs. Sign up for a free account today and you
will be on your way to make your home’s HVAC system that much smarter.
#heating&airconditioning #heating&air #smarthome