Why Smart Thermostats Are Worth It

If you want a way to save money and energy in your home, it may be a worthwhile investment to research getting a smart thermostat. These gadgets can do everything from monitor when you leave the house, so that it doesn’t waste electricity heating or cooling a vacant home, to adjusting energy usage according to how many people are in a room or what time of day it is.

We’ll cover what a smart thermostat is, how it works and why it’s worth it to invest in one. We’ll also discuss how it can help you spend less money on your energy bills by lowering energy consumption.

What Is a Smart Thermostat?

A smart thermostat is a programmable device that allows you to do everything 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 abilities, 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, like 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 include a temperature sensor that can detect when the home is vacant, and then automatically change to an energy-efficient setting. Your smart thermostat might be able to geofence with your phone to know when you’re at home or out.

A smart thermostat does tasks like adjust more for rooms that are occupied or have more people in them, as well as track what time of day it is so it knows how much heating or air conditioning should be going.

Are Smart Thermostats Worth It?

For some people, the answer is yes. If you do a lot of traveling or are gone for many hours during the day, it may be worth your money to get one of these devices. You could save a lot, especially if you forget to adjust it when you leave for the office or go out of town for the weekend.

You won’t have to be concerned about whether your smart thermostat is on the right program, or if you remembered to change the temperature setting before you went out. It doesn’t require a lot of effort from you, but you’ll see it in reduced energy bills.

Smart Thermostats vs. Programmable Thermostats

Many homeowners have a standard programmable thermostat, but 40% of them aren’t set correctly. This means you might be missing chances to save on heating and cooling expenses.

Smart thermostats are handy because they learn your schedule and automate heating and cooling that corresponds. You can set a comparable schedule on a programmable thermostat. But it’s more effort to program your thermostat manually.

A smart thermostat automatically adjusts and progressively changes the temperature inside your home for the greatest energy savings. If you manually adjust a programmable thermostat, you can overburden your HVAC system and make it work harder to meet your adjustments.

Do Smart Thermostats Save Energy?

Yes, because your smart thermostat will learn about your temperature preferences and routine to make a schedule that saves on heating and cooling costs. You don’t have to do much as your thermostat does all the work for you while saving money.

You can acquire identical energy savings with a programmable thermostat, but it’s going to require a little bit more effort than a smart thermostat. To put together a schedule on programmable models, we advise following these recommendations from ENERGY STAR® to save energy.

Recommended Temperature Settings for Your Heating System

    • Wake: Under 70 degrees.
    • Day: Set back at least 8 degrees, if no one is there.
    • Evening: Greater than 70 degrees.
    • Sleep: Decrease at least 8 degrees.

Recommended Temperature Settings for Your Cooling System

    • Wake: Higher than 78 degrees.
    • Day: Set up at least 7 degrees, if no one is there.
    • Evening: Cooler than 78 degrees.
    • Sleep: Set up at least 4 degrees.

To sum up, 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 prominent 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 provide you with a monthly heating and cooling report, which often compares you to other residences in the area.

Your potential 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 between.

If you’re finding you’re only getting small savings on energy costs, you might be optimizing for energy efficiency already. This includes switching off your HVAC system when you’re not at home or moving your thermostat up/down when you’re sleeping.

Smart thermostats make the process easy through their hands-off process that gradually shifts the temperature. If you’re at home a lot, it might not save you much 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 purchase energy-saving, ENERGY STAR-certified equipment such as a smart thermostat. The rebate amount varies by company, but in most instances, it will take care of most or all the cost. To find out more, visit your utility company’s website for rebate information.

Trust the Experts for Your Smart Thermostat Needs

Getting a smart thermostat is an investment, but it can help you spend less money in the end. If you’ve been thinking about installing one and want to know if they run as promised, we provide free home comfort assessments. Call our Experts at 866-397-3787 to request yours now!