For decades, homeowners have relied on basic thermostats to provide them with a continuous supply of conditioned air to make their homes comfortable. However, these devices aren’t efficient enough that they cause your energy bills to rise.
While fuel and electricity rates keep going up, homeowners are looking for ways to save on their heating and cooling bills. Proper maintenance will definitely ensure your HVAC system run efficiently, which translates to lower energy consumption. In addition, investing in a smart thermostat opens up a new world of convenience and energy efficiency.
Four Seasons Air Specialists is a trusted HVAC company in Hugo, MN that values your home comfort above anything else. We can help you figure out why makes sense to invest in a smart thermostat and assist you in finding the right one for you.
Overview
A thermostat’s job is to maintain the temperature in your home. It measures your home’s temperature and uses that information to initiate your furnace or air conditioner, depending on the thermostat’s setting.
Advancements in technology have enabled thermostats to do more than just activate your HVAC system. Features like a LED touchscreen display, Wi-Fi compatibility, self-learning capacity, and connectivity to smartphones are just some of the modern conveniences a smart thermostat offers.
Common Types of Thermostats
Mechanical Thermostats
These are the easiest and cheapest thermostats available. They function by being triggered by metal bars that heat up or cool down. These thermostats can be unreliable since they can be set only to one specific temperature.
Programmable Thermostats
These devices allow you to automatically adjust the temperature in your house according to preset times. This helps you lower your energy consumption as you can allow the thermostat to minimize the temperature when you’re away and set it to your preferred temperature when you’re home.
Smart Thermostats
These advanced devices learn a family’s lifestyle and preferences and programs itself accordingly. They can be connected to a Wi-Fi network and can be managed remotely from a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop.
Advantages
Smart thermostats learn your daily schedule and preferences, making it easy to conserve energy by allowing the thermostat manage your home’s temperature.
When paired with a smartphone, these devices can let you confirm if your HVAC system is running smoothly while you’re away.
Smart thermostats also have useful features such as maintenance reminders and the ability to monitor energy consumption. These devices can also detect a dirty filter and will notify you when it needs cleaning or replacement.
Advanced Features of Smart Thermostats
Certain smart thermostat models such as the iComfort S30 uses GPS in your smartphone to detect when you’re leaving and automatically makes adjustments to increase system efficiency. When you or a family member gets back home, the iComfort S30 will then set your system to a normal schedule and comfortable temperature.
Another feature of the iComfort S30 is its Allergen Defender that monitors the air quality and pollen levels in your area, based on your ZIP code and automatically turns the fan on to clean your home’s air when outdoor levels are high. Its “Feels Like” feature creates the temperature you want to feel, not just the temperature you set—much like the "Feels Like" temperature in a weather report. So when you set it to 72 F, it feels like 72.
The Honeywell Lyric T6 Pro WiFi thermostat can be controlled with your smartphone or tablet so it knows when you're coming home and can make sure your home is exactly how you like it when you arrive. Its Geofence technology helps make you comfortable by using your smartphone's location to know when you're away and when you return. The Lyric app lets you monitor and control your heating anytime, anywhere, using only your smartphone or tablet. This model works with the latest smart technology including Apple® HomeKit™ and Amazon Echo, allowing you to better control your home comfort.
Get a Smart Thermostat from the Experts
While a smart thermostat can be an investment worth a couple hundred dollars, you can get it back by lower monthly utility bills. More importantly, it increases your home comfort and delivers peace of mind.
If you’re looking into upgrading to a smart thermostat, our experts at Four Seasons Air Specialists can help out. We have been providing high-quality Hugo heating and air conditioning solutions since 1974.
