With old man winter just around the bend, heating season is well on its way to its inevitable high peak. Dropping mercury means your furnace will need to work harder to keep up with the cold. For many households, this means a high utility bill through the winter months. But what if you could mitigate that high bill? Though programmable thermostats have been around for years at this point, smart thermostats provide you with the opportunity for even more savings. Here’s a quick look at what they are, how they work and how they help you save energy.
To start, smart thermostats are digital thermostats that have the ability to apply analytics to your daily heating and cooling routine while providing the convenience of remote access. If you adjust the thermostat down every Tuesday at 6:30 PM as you get back from the gym, the thermostat learns that behavior. When you know you’ll be unexpectedly stuck at the office an extra pair of hours one December evening, you can use your smartphone to remotely access the thermostat and leave the temperature at 60° until you start your drive home, saving you money while still delivering a comfortable temperature by the time you get there.
Though some level of automation is available through programmable thermostats, the remote access and machine learning ability is not. When your college-age son pays a surprise visit home, you can remotely check whether he’s turned the AC down to 55° in the middle of August and adjust it back up to a more reasonable and less costly temperature. These thermostats also provide you with options to learn about your energy consumption as it operates. You’ll be able to recognize when the system is running during peak demand hours and adjust your heating and cooling schedule to save money, or allow the system to do so automatically within particular parameters.
Smart thermostats work by being installed with both your HVAC system and your home network. The thermostat is able to make minute adjustments to how your HVAC system operates, including adjusting for humidity, weather conditions and similar aspects that standard and programmable thermostats are not able to respond to. It can also check the best rates for running at particular points, including taking advantage of off-peak hours to handle the bulk of your household’s heating and cooling needs.
Some models may have the ability to tell whether there is an occupant in the home, if your stove has just been fired up for a batch of pizza or when the humidity increases because your bathroom fan can’t quite keep up with your spouse’s extended blazing hot shower sessions. It then adjusts the HVAC system to seamlessly deal with the change in conditions. The learning capability is a boon when you can’t remember how to program your programmable thermostat or are constantly forgetting to adjust the temperature when you leave for work.
By installing a smart thermostat in your home or business, you can quickly realize significant savings along with better control and understanding of your energy usage over the winter months. But what if you’re not sure which smart thermostat is the right one for your structure? That’s what we’re for. Just contact one of our experienced associates today for more information or guidance in finding the right fit. At Poulin Lumber, our job is keeping your project rolling forward.
