The variety of technology available to today’s homeowner is frankly astounding. There are so many tools, gadgets and upgrades to old equipment that it’s often hard to sort through all of it. Deciding whether you even need some of the modern equipment that is available to you can be a bit of a challenge sometimes as well. Some of them are incredibly useful, while others may not offer a measurable benefit. One new type of technology you may have considered is the WiFi thermostat. This article will help you examine what the ideal thermostat is for your home and whether a WiFi thermostat is worth the investment.
What is a WiFi thermostat?
As its name implies, the WiFi thermostat is able to connect to the internet in your home and control the temperature through the use of an app on your phone. If you’re a little too cold or too warm, you simply tap the screen of your smartphone a few times and change the temperature a few degrees. A WiFi thermostat also has the benefit of keeping you updated on the status of your home when you’re not around; this can be particularly helpful if your heating system breaks down, potentially putting your pets and plants in danger from the cold. Your WiFi thermostat will update you in real time and allow you to address the problem quickly.
The benefits
A WiFi thermostat gives you the ability to control the temperature of your home remotely. For many people, this is enough to make it the ideal thermostat for their lifestyle, but there are a number of other benefits a WiFi thermostat has as well. The ease with which you can use them is a huge selling point for many homeowners. While other thermostats require time and effort spent programming and reprogramming throughout the year, a WiFi thermostat can be reprogrammed with a few clicks on your smartphone’s screen. They also have the ability to detect when you have returned to your home, and make adjustments to the temperature accordingly. They even have the ability to learn your schedule over time, and begin predicting when you will need to make changes in the temperature.
Save energy
Going green is all the rage these days, and every seemingly small step you can take to save energy in your home can add up to save you a lot of money on your energy bill. Making use of a WiFi thermostat is one of the best ways you can save money across the seasons. Temperature adjustments can be fully automated and therefore extremely efficient; a WiFi thermostat will monitor the temperature constantly and make adjustments whenever necessary.
When you leave the house, or go to bed, you needn’t worry about adjusting the temperature as your smart thermostat will do it for you. It can also monitor and adjust the temperature in individual rooms; so the living room, for example, can be kept at a comfortable temperature while rooms in your home that are less trafficked can utilize less energy. While the exact amount of money you can save on energy costs will vary depending on the climate you live in and the efficiency of your HVAC system, many homeowners notice a significant drop in their energy bill after having a WiFi thermostat installed.
Monitor your home
The ideal thermostat should be constantly monitoring temperature and climate conditions at all times, and that’s what an effective WiFi thermostat is able to do. It can constantly make adjustments based not only on the indoor and outdoor temperature, but on other factors such as the humidity as well. In addition, it can monitor the efficacy of your HVAC system itself. Over time, your HVAC system will become less efficient and require maintenance; a smart thermostat can detect when you need to call the experts and make repairs as needed. With that much detail, you’ll not only save money in energy costs but in maintenance as well; since your thermostat will constantly update you on the status of your HVAC system, you may be able to avoid the costly repairs that come with undetected major problems. You can choose to have the information you need emailed to you regularly.
Works with your other devices
One of the key benefits of a smart thermostat is its ability to work in conjunction with the other devices in your home. For example, you can connect it to your Amazon Echo and adjust your temperature using voice commands. Besides tying into your phone, you can also connect your thermostat to your laptop or desktop computer and make whatever adjustments you need this way. Some WiFi thermostats are also capable of playing music or displaying family photos, should you wish for them to do so. Having a WiFi thermostat is one of the many parts that work together to make up a modern, smart home.
Further information
If you decide that having a WiFi thermostat installed in your home is the ideal choice for you, do a little further research online to decide which thermostat is best suited to your specific needs. There are many options; popular choices include Nest and Honeywell, although there are quite a few others on the market that may be the ideal thermostat for you.
After you have carefully considered which thermostat to invest in, contact a reputable HVAC company to inspect your heating and cooling system and help you with the process of installing your new thermostat and ensuring it is properly monitoring the temperature in your home. You will also need to install the necessary software on your phone and program the thermostat to your particular preferences. Once you have done all of this, the rest should be easy! You will be able to relax in a home that is always at the exact temperature you want and save money in the process.