How Do Smart Thermostats Work?
Smart thermostats have become more popular over the past five years. Numerous energy experts have described these devices as perhaps the best way to control electricity and gas supply. However, there are a lot of people who still don’t know what smart thermostats are.
With the wide variety of smart thermostats currently available in the market, it can be difficult to know where to begin if you want to buy one. Smart thermostats are engineered to help you control your home’s main heating remotely.
In addition, these devices comprise features that allow you to personalize your main heating to your needs and liking. Smart thermostats are meant to make your life easier, whether it’s automatically adjusting heating according to the time of day or when you leave the house.
By having a smart thermostat in your home, you can manage your energy use more efficiently. Apart from doing an energy comparison and switching to a better power company, buying a smart thermostat is one of the best ways to save on your electricity and gas bills.
What Differentiates a Smart Thermostat from a Typical Thermostat?
How Do Smart Thermostats Work? – What Differentiates a Smart Thermostat from a Typical Thermostat?
Typical thermostats allow you to adjust the heating in your home using a dial or a control pad of some kind. On the other hand, smart thermostats give you full command of your home’s main heating, and you can set the temperature according to your needs and wants.
This means you’ll be able to adjust your heating based on various factors. For instance, smart thermostats allow you to change the heating level in your home based on the current weather outside, time of day, and who is inside your house. In addition, smart thermostats give you the ability to adjust your home’s central heating using a smartphone or tablet.
Another function that smart thermostats give you over typical thermostats is checking your energy consumption in real-time. This enables you to see the amount of energy being used by appliances in your home, and then you can decide if you need to make changes.
How Do You Control A Smart Thermostat?
Let’s begin with the basics; smart thermostats connect to your HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system through a wired connection like traditional analog thermostats do. In addition, a smart thermostat connects to your home Wi-Fi for remote and wireless control.
With regard to usage, there are two main ways to control a smart thermostat:
Using The Smartphone Companion Application
Using The Smartphone Companion Application
The main thing that differentiates a smart thermostat from a traditional analog thermostat is the ability to control it remotely using the companion app. Maybe you’re on your way home, and you want the house to be warm when you arrive? No problem, with the ability to adjust temperature on your phone, you get more control and convenience than ever.
Using The Thermostat’s Interface
How Do Smart Thermostats Work – Using The Thermostat’s InterfaceLike a traditional analog thermostat, you can control a smart thermostat using the interface you mount on the wall. This interface allows you to raise or lower temperatures, set daily or weekly schedules, and turn the thermostat on or off.
What Features Does A Smart Thermostat Have?
What Features Does A Smart Thermostat Have?
Energy Tracking
Most thermostats also allow you to track energy consumption. Some even have energy-saving presets that can help you save cash on your monthly electricity bill by adjusting heating and cooling in your home in the most efficient way possible.
Learning
Perhaps the most useful feature of a smart thermostat is learning. Do you link to turn the heat up when you wake up in the morning? A smart thermostat will learn your routines and automatically adjust the temperature according to your needs and wants.
When you have a thermostat that can learn your schedule, you can save money since your heat pump, HVAC system, or furnace won’t turn on when you’re not at home.
Smart Home Automation
If you have a smart home setup, you can integrate a smart thermostat into automations with other smart gadgets. For instance, you can create an automation to arm your home security system, lower heating or cooling, and even switch off your smart lights.
Voice Controls
Most smart thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature through verbal commands to voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant. So even if you can’t find your phone, just say what you want out loud, and the thermostat will do it.
Note: Sometimes your smart thermostat can run into functionality problems but the fixes are relatively easy. For instance, if it doesn’t connect to your WiFi, try restarting it. Also restart your phone and try updating the thermostat’s companion app. This should fix your issue.
Final Thought
To sum it all up, a smart thermostat will transform your home, so the question is, do you really need one? The answer is yes because it offers you a host of benefits such as energy-saving, energy tracking, smart home automation, voice control, among others.
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