Smart thermostats are amazing devices that have made heating and cooling your home a lot easier in recent years and contributed to smaller bills for electricity. They allow you to change different settings from your smartphone.
Smart thermostats add a new level of convenience as you can start heating or cooling while traveling to your home. This is how you get into a warm home. Or if you are already in your home, you can simply increase the temperature while lying on the couch and would rather not get up to do it yourself.
Most smart thermostats allow you to view usage history when heating or cooling is activated, and at what time, giving you a better idea of how often your system is operating.
Perhaps the biggest feature of smart thermostats is the ability to learn your adjustment habits. For example, they can learn over time when you are at home and when you are away, at what temperature you are warm or cold.
Just adjust it whenever you want and it will learn your habits.
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How does it work?
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Smart thermostats connect to the Internet, which is why they are called Wi-Fi thermostats. This functionality makes controlling through smart apps much easier than programming on the thermostat itself! They usually have a Wi-Fi chip. It has become clear that they can do more than just set schedules.
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Wi-Fi devices can include learning algorithms to help you set up the most efficient schedules. Newer smart thermostats take advantage of smart assistants such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit so you can control it and heating schedules using voice only.
Once installed, you can reduce energy costs throughout the year. With built-in Wi-Fi, you can easily control your computer or smartphone. You can also apply holiday settings and receive energy usage feedback.
How Much Money Can You Save?
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How much money you save depends on:
-Your current energy consumption – Do you keep your heating on constantly all winter or turn it off in the evening or when you go to work?
-Utility Costs in Your Region – Probably the costs are getting more expensive every year!
-Seasonal variations – Say now was the “coldest winter in 20 years” and the “record coldest winter.”
-Climate – If you live in a mild climate, your savings will be less than, say, those who live in colder places and face colder days and hot summers.
-Home Insulation – Insulating your house makes a big difference.
Is it worth buying?
source:moneysavingexpert.com
We think it’s absolutely worth buying, but not just for the potential savings. While there are plenty of factors for you to save, for many customers, the appeal of this device is enhanced by all the other benefits that the devices offer.
Some of the additional benefits of a thermostat:
-better control of temperature distribution
-simple and easy to use
-contains alert features
-display of indoor and outdoor temperatures on the screen
-other connected devices
-mobile application
-remote control
-and more
When all these little things add up, it is concluded that life will be easier if you have this device in your home.
Constant temperature until automatic downtime
This is about heating while you are away from home during the day and during the night. Using downtime makes sense. Downtime automation is what they do, whether they are learning your habits or keeping an eye on movement in the room.
They are based on the idea of not starting heat or cooling when you do not need it, which will save money. If you use a lot of energy because you have a constant set temperature all the time, you are likely to see an improvement in your consumption by handing your heating and cooling control to a smart thermostat.
Things to keep in mind when buying this device
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If you are not very knowledgeable about electricity, leave the installation to professionals
It used to be significantly easier to install a thermostat than it is with today’s new devices. It is almost always necessary to have a so-called 24-volt C-wire, which is a necessary voltage for this type of device. Especially if you have an older house, chances are high that you don’t have c-wire.
In this case, hire professionals to solve the problem. Otherwise, you will have to choose a model that does not require c-wire, and there are very few on the market. A C-wire adapter is a useful thing to connect everything to your HVAC system if you have one. f you would like to know more about why you should let an electrician do all this and what is the potential damage if you make a mistake somewhere, click here.
It is essential to have a newer phone
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While this probably goes without saying today, you do need to have a smartphone. After installing your device, it is your turn to install the free app provided by the manufacturer.
This is very simple and you don’t need a phone expert. Just follow the instructions and install the app. It is also important that you have an updated operating system and compatible, which is generally the case, as all manufacturers make applications for iOS and Android.
When the installation is complete, everything is ready to start using.
Stable Wi-Fi network
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You need to have wi-fi and a stable internet network, as the frequent disappearance of the internet, would significantly impair the functioning of the device. First, you would not be able to turn on the heating from somewhere, and the second would not properly monitor your patterns and be able to act on that information. You should also pay attention to whether the power outage is often an occurrence in your area, as this would be another problem.
Conclusion:
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Of course, there are some limitations. In many texts on the Internet, you will find information on how the installation of this device allows you to control the temperature in each room separately. This is only possible if your central heating system supports it.
If you use a centrally located thermostat, it can only control the operation of the boiler and affect the temperature of the hot water in the system and thus the heating of all rooms together. However, a smart thermostat cannot replace the structural constraints of a central heating system. But it still offers plenty of advantages over a classic model that only has the option to set the desired temperature.
