Many companies are offering smart thermostats for consumers to upgrade their home’s heating or cooling systems. This picture is a generic thermostat. We are not promoting any particular type. We just used this picture as part of our post about a guide to smarter heating of your home. When it comes to smart thermostats there are several basic requirements that consumers need to consider. These include – basic functionality, learning capabilities relative to heating needs, and internet connection via WiFi in your home. Most of all the ability to observe and also control the temperature in your home remotely.
Guide to Smarter Heating of Your Home
The basic objective is to reduce your heating costs and also ensure your home is comfortable. Remote control and internet connections are nice to have, but you really need to evaluate whether you will use these features or not.
A smart thermostat will have multiple time controls for various times of the day and will sense your schedule through manual adjustments that you make to the thermostat. Over time it will learn your schedule and heat your home accordingly.
If you do not have WiFi or if you do not have a smartphone, it is unlikely that this feature will be of much use to you. Of course, you can use your PC to observe and/or make adjustments, but most people want to be able to make adjustments on the go and a smartphone with internet data connections is often the best way to accomplish this.
Before you pay extra for a smart thermostat, evaluate your planned use of the features available. A thermostat will less functionality and lower cost might still deliver the savings you are looking for.