So you want to save money but you don’t want to spend a ton of money to do it. This is one of the big dilemmas most homeowners face when it comes to installing energy-efficient technology. While the savings may be appealing, the cost of making the switch can sometimes be quite large. Combine this with the fact that many of these upgrades replace things that already work without issue, and you can see why so many people hesitate to get started.
However, there’s one upgrade that’s perhaps the easiest to make purely because of the unprecedented amount of savings they can provide all for a minimal investment in your home: the smart thermostat. Smart thermostats are a step above a programmable thermostat. While programmable thermostats simply use a clock and a pre-set program to turn your heater or air conditioner up or down and on or off at specific times of the day (or even throughout the week), smart thermostats go several huge steps further by using the power of the internet. As a result, you get a system that offers incredible energy savings for an ultimately minimal investment in your home.
How Smart Thermostats Work
All smart thermostats are not created equal. In fact, there are several different major brand names that are all in competition to be the top of the market, and they usually stay there until a competitor comes up with something even better. However, different brands all tend to have their own style, their own platform, and their own technologies that they make the core of their smart thermostat systems.
For example, nearly every smart thermostat is internet-connected, meaning it uses the wireless network in your home to send and receive information. This information can include status reports on what your heating and cooling system is doing. This information can then be viewed in a user-friendly format through an online portal or a smartphone app that you can view from anywhere in the world. Forget to turn off the air before going to work? No problem—just log in, flip the system off, and off it will go. You can even adjust the temperature or change timer settings through these apps as well.
Smart thermostats actually go a step further on top of that. While you can program a heating and cooling schedule for your system to follow like a traditional programmable thermostat, some of these units also take in information from sensors placed around your home in order to make adjustments to the way your heating and cooling system works. Some smart thermostats can also take into account the weather outside when making their adjustments using real-time weather data from reliable sources. When it’s cool outside, your system will shut itself off because you don’t need your air conditioner. When it’s too cold outside, the furnace will turn on to keep you warm. It’s all done automatically.
Four Great Benefits of a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats do all of this while optimizing your heating and cooling cycles in order to save you money. At a cost of generally around a few hundred dollars to purchase, these upgrades typically pay for themselves in usually around a year or two, depending on how much you save and how often you run your heating and cooling system.
Here are four of the best benefits of switching over to a smart thermostat:
- Saving money: The best benefit is also the primary reason why people install smart thermostats: they save money. We’ve already discussed several of the ways they save you money, but there are plenty of others as well. For the cost, no upgrade does more for improving your energy than a smart thermostat does, especially if you have an older HVAC system.
- Reduced wear and tear on your HVAC system: Did you know a more efficient system is one that also receives less wear and tear? Smart thermostats can usually shorten cycle times, leading to fewer running hours and less wear and tear that shortens the life of your HVAC equipment. You’ll enjoy more value for your investment and a dependable air conditioner and heater for many additional years.
- Peace of mind: Wouldn’t you love to be able to go through the brutal harshness of summer or the freezing cold of winter without the stress of thinking that your HVAC system could quit on you at any time? With a smart thermostat, you don’t have to. Smart thermostats keep your system reliable, and many can even inform you if they find a problem that needs urgent attention right away.
- Possible tax breaks & other incentives: Did you know that in many cases smart thermostats are considered to be “energy-efficient” technology that could qualify you for tax breaks and other benefits? While programs are constantly changing and new ones are brought in to replace expired ones quite frequently, there’s a chance that installing one of these units could make you eligible for a rebate, a tax credit, or some other form of a public energy efficiency benefit. We encourage you to ask a professional to find out if a particular smart thermostat qualifies you for any available incentives.
Find out more about installing a smart thermostat in your home from the experts at All Pro Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical by dialing (909) 500-8193 today.
