Installing a smart thermostat is undoubtedly one of the best investments you can make in your home. Buying a smart thermostat and having an HVAC company install it for you is relatively inexpensive. The energy savings you can get by having a smart thermostat also means the unit will almost certainly pay for itself within a few years. Here, we’ll explain everything you should know about smart thermostats, including how they improve comfort and HVAC efficiency and what features to look for when deciding which smart thermostat to install.
Understanding the Different Types of Smart Thermostats
When comparing smart thermostats, it’s important to know that not all units are even remotely equal. All smart thermostats are Wi-Fi enabled so that you can control your heating and air conditioning using an app and monitor your home’s temperature remotely. Nonetheless, that’s really the only thing that separates basic smart thermostats from standard programmable units.
The more advanced units are often referred to as learning thermostats. That’s because they can connect to other smart home devices and use algorithms to automatically adjust the HVAC system’s temperature settings based on the household’s typical daily routines. This allows the thermostat to manage the temperature throughout the day and night more effectively while also helping the HVAC system to heat/cool more energy efficiently.
How Smart Learning Thermostats Work
Learning thermostats typically come with at least a few motion sensors and/or exterior door sensors. The motion and door sensors enable the thermostat to learn things like the time everyone goes to bed and wakes up and when everyone leaves for work/school and gets back home. Once you input your desired temperature setting using the app, the thermostat then automatically takes care of the rest. That means it will adjust the settings so your HVAC system doesn’t have to run as much when no one is home or everyone is asleep. It will also program the settings so the temperature changes back to normal to ensure your house is already fully warm or cool by the time everyone gets home.
Some of the better units can also monitor the weather. This is also helpful for making sure your home is at the right temperature when you get back from work and also preventing your HVAC system from turning back on too early. The thermostat will normally go into recovery mode about an hour before you get back. Recovery mode means it has switched back to the normal setting and the HVAC system is working to bring the temperature back up or down to where you normally keep it.
By monitoring the outdoor temperature, the thermostat can know if it needs to switch to recovery mode earlier or later than it normally does. That means sometimes switching the temperature setting earlier on much colder winter days or later on milder summer days.
Some units also come with additional temperature sensors that you can place in various parts of the house. This is useful since it allows the thermostat to detect if any areas are too warm or too cool so that the HVAC system keeps running a bit longer until these areas reach your desired temperature. This type of feature is one of the many reasons why some smart thermostats are much better at controlling the temperature and ensuring every part of the house is always comfortable.
How Much Can You Save With a Smart Thermostat?
ENERGY STAR estimates that the average homeowner will save at least $50-60 a year on their heating and cooling costs with a smart thermostat compared to what they’d pay with a standard thermostat. However, the total savings are often much higher in places with frigid winters or extremely hot summers. To earn an ENERGY STAR rating, a smart thermostat must be proven to provide at least an 8% reduction in cooling costs for the average home and at least a 10% reduction in heating costs.
If you choose a basic smart thermostat, you may not save much or anything at all. ENERGY STAR-rated units, on the other hand, must have certain features and meet specific requirements that provide a tangible improvement in energy efficiency. For instance, the thermostat has to constantly register within 2 degrees of the actual temperature in the home so that the HVAC system doesn’t run more than necessary. It also has to enter standby mode in less than five minutes after you adjust the settings on the thermostat or the app or any time it detects movement. As well, it can’t use more than 3 watts of electricity per hour when in standby mode.
Another great benefit of installing any ENERGY STAR smart thermostat is that you can monitor the hourly, daily, monthly and yearly use of your HVAC system. This lets you easily tell how your thermostat settings are impacting energy usage. You can then try making minor adjustments and quickly see the impact they have on your HVAC system’s energy usage. This energy-monitoring feature will also provide suggestions on how you can improve the system’s efficiency and further reduce your energy bills.
How Geo-Fencing Works With a Smart Thermostat
Geo-fencing is another feature some advanced smart thermostats have that further contributes to improved comfort and lower heating and cooling bills. This feature allows the thermostat to remotely connect to each person in the household’s smartphone and use the phone’s GPS to monitor everyone’s location. Each person can then use the app on their phone to create a map with various boundary lines at different locations or a specific distance from the house. That means essentially creating a “home zone” that’s within the boundary lines.
If anyone is within this home zone, the thermostat will maintain the normal temperature setting. This way the temperature in the house doesn’t start to drop or increase in a situation such as if you’re just running a quick errand and will be back in not that long. Once everyone crosses their boundary line and is out of the home zone, the thermostat will then change to the “away” temperature setting so the HVAC system runs less. If you have the boundary line set at your workplace, the thermostat will also know as soon as you leave work and then immediately switch back to the normal “home” setting.
Contact Us Today
Since 1959, Midway Heating Company has been the go-to source for heating and air conditioning in Clackamas, OR and the Portland Metro area. We’re a family-owned company with a team of highly skilled heating and cooling technicians who can manage all aspects of your HVAC system. If you want to install a smart thermostat, we can explain all of your options and help you choose the one that’s best for your home. You can also trust that we’ll install it correctly and make sure it’s properly calibrated so that it works as it should.
We specialize in installing all types of residential HVAC equipment as well and are ready to help if you need a new furnace, AC, heat pump or ductless mini-split system. When it comes to HVAC repairs and maintenance, you can count on us no matter what make and model your unit is. Whether it’s installing a smart thermostat or any other home comfort service, give Midway Heating Company a call.
