What are smart thermostats?
Our customers often ask us what are smart thermostats (also called a connecting or communicating thermostat). In simple terms, a thermostat is used to control the temperature in your home. Older versions would have been just a dial that allowed you to do just that.
Moving with the times thermostats became more digital, so they were able to set more of a schedule for your heating although with limited features.
Now, with technology moving at such a rapid pace, it’s not just about thermostats controlling the temperature of your home. Smart thermostats can now connect to the internet and your wi-fi, you can even connect smart thermostats to your smart phone. Allowing you to control the features from anywhere and some even when you are not home.
Different models will have different features, so be sure to check out what’s on offer.
Smart thermostats can include a whole host of features that can make your life simpler when it comes to heating which can ultimately help you save money on your energy bills, one of the main reasons for households getting them installed.
For a typical working household that has no fixed routine, your smart thermostat can learn to adapt to your habits, adjusting the settings where needed. Allowing you to have a more in-depth look into your actual energy usage like never before while showing you exactly where you may be able to cut costs (check the product features).
At the end of the day, we all want to save money where we can and depending on which brand you go for and how new your boiler system is you can do exactly that!
In essence your smart thermostat can monitor room temperatures for you, if it uses geo-location it will even know when your home is empty. So, if you accidentally leave the heating on you won’t be wasting any energy. It can even help you monitor the weather, prompting your settings to be adjusted.
As the market expands, there is a growing range of thermostats available. They may differ in price but you will want to compare the features that you would like or benefit most from.
Here are a few features that smart thermostats may include that can make your life easier so you will want to consider all our suggestions before you make a purchase as the cheapest will not necessary be the best value for money in the long run:
- Do you want it to learn your daily patterns?
A smart thermostat can track how you currently heat your home and programme itself to this schedule so you only use energy when you need it.
- Do you want your smart thermostat to use geo-location technology?
Connecting to your smartphone’s GPS location, your smart thermostat can determine when you are home or away and turn the heating on and off accordingly.
- Do you want it to respond to when you are home or away?
A motion detector is used to sense when you leave and enter your home so that heating can be automatically adjusted.
- Would you like it to respond to weather conditions?
A smart thermostat can check the weather forecast or temperature outside and adjust your home heating. This stops energy wastage on warmer days and prevents frozen pipes in the winter.
- Would you like to use voice commands?
Many smart thermostats can be controlled via a voice assistant however you’ll want to make sure it’s compatible with the specific model that you plan to use and your current boiler.
Once you have considered the features that will fit in with your lifestyle you can then start looking into how much you are looking to pay and what brand you will go with.
There are some leading brands that are making headway within the industry, here are just a few that you can have a look at:
- Nest
- Tado
- Hive
- Honeywell
- Netatmo
- Check compatibility with your current heating system
The smart thermostat you choose must be compatible with your current heating system otherwise it won’t work.
- Would you like to have the ability to control different parts of your home?
You can have the ability to control individual rooms or ‘zones’ within your home .separately, so you only heat the areas that you are using, resulting in less waste with spaces that are not used as frequently.
If you need any recommendations, we will be happy to offer some advice for you around what our clients are frequently using.