Why Smart Thermostats Are Worth It

If you’re looking for a way to spend less money and energy in your home, it may be a worthwhile investment to explore getting a smart thermostat. These gadgets 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 changing 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 runs and why it’s worthwhile to invest in one. We’ll also discuss how it can help you save money on your energy bills by lowering energy consumption.

What Is a Smart Thermostat?

A smart thermostat is an automated device that allows you to do it all from changing 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 as time passes 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 anywhere.

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 improved control over your comfort. They work with most systems, such as home heating and air conditioning.

Smart thermostat features consist of a temperature sensor that can tell when the home is empty, and then automatically adjust 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 adjust more for rooms that are occupied 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 out for many hours during the day, it may be worth your money to invest in one of these devices. You could save a significant amount, especially if you forget to adjust it when you leave for work or go out of town for the weekend.

You won’t have to be concerned about whether your smart thermostat is on the appropriate program, or if you remembered to adjust the temperature setting before you left. It doesn’t require much effort from you, but you’ll see it in lower energy bills.

Smart Thermostats vs. Programmable Thermostats

Many homeowners have a traditional programmable thermostat, but 40% of them aren’t set properly. This means you could be missing chances to save on heating and cooling costs.

Smart thermostats are convenient 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 work to program your thermostat by hand.

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

Do Smart Thermostats Save Energy?

Yes, because 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 saving money.

You can acquire the same energy savings with a programmable thermostat, but it’s going to take a little bit more effort than a smart thermostat. To set up a schedule on programmable models, we suggest following these recommendations from ENERGY STAR® to save energy.

Suggested 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: Greater than 78 degrees.

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

• • 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 decrease your energy bill. All you need is a programmable thermostat, but it’s important to note that any savings may come at the cost of your comfort and convenience.

Do Smart Thermostats Save Money

Nest, one of the most popular smart thermostat manufacturers, states 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 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 the middle.

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

Smart thermostats make the process easy through their hands-off process that slowly 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 like a smart thermostat. The rebate amount varies by company, but in most instances, it will cover most or all the cost. To find out more, visit your utility company’s website for rebate info.

Trust the Experts for Your Smart Thermostat Needs

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