How to Save Money with a Smart Thermostat

Of all the potential HVAC upgrades that can quickly improve your home’s system, few can compete with the smart thermostat in total value. We strongly recommend including a smart thermostat whether you’re putting in a new HVAC or just want to upgrade an existing one. Have a closer look at what differentiates smart thermostats and how one can benefit you.

Differences Between Programmable and Smart Thermostats

Programmable thermostats have been around for several decades, and they do their job well. A programmable thermostat allows you to manually set the system for basic operations, such as turning the heating or cooling up at specific hours.

Smart thermostats can serve this role and do a whole lot more. For example, some smart thermostats can learn your usage habits. If you tend to turn the thermostat down before you go to sleep, a learning smart thermostat will pick this up and start doing the job for you.

Smart thermostats are also highly adaptive. The top models can take in data about room occupancy, weather, and even energy prices to determine the best time to run the HVAC system. A smart thermostat can help you save between 10 and 15% on your utility bills through such optimizations.

Connectivity and Integration

Perhaps the most obvious feature of smart thermostats is their connectivity. Using a smartphone or internet app, you can quickly see how the HVAC system is running and make changes. For example, you might know that you’re not going to get home soon. You can use the app to tell the smart thermostat to delay heating and cooling cycles until you’re closer to home.

Smart thermostats integrate well with many other kinds of devices. Many people like to integrate their smart thermostats with their home’s voice assistant. This gives you hands-free access to voice assistant products from big names like Amazon, Apple, and Google. You also get the benefit of easily changing the temperature without getting up or even touching an app.

Geofencing

One of the most intriguing features of the best smart thermostats is geofencing. A geofence is a GPS-based system for detecting when you are home or away. Using the thermostat’s app, you can choose a radius around your home for the system to consider you as actually being at home. When you’re within that radius, your system will function as normal; when you leave, it can shift gears to condition your home less since nobody is present. Because the radius can extend outside of your home itself, it can cover backyards and front yards so your system doesn’t think your home is empty when you’re spending time outdoors.

Analytics

Studying energy consumption patterns makes it easier for you to save money. Analytics provide data from your smart thermostat so you can see where there might be losses or problems. Some smart thermostats can even show you the cost benefits or disadvantages of specific temperature and humidity points. This data allows you to determine the most efficient way to run your HVAC system. Behavioral changes based on analytics may save you two to four percent above other savings.

Many analytics systems also make utility integration highly desirable. Some utility companies have servers that can feed data about current rates and demand. Especially if your utility provider sets rates dynamically, this is a good way to find out when it might be cheapest to heat or cool your house. Many providers have opt-in program enrollment with a compatible smart thermostat, too. Typically, they either offer an annual rebate or a reduced rate for running your HVAC system off-peak hours.

Analytics can also provide monthly, seasonal, and annual comparisons of consumption. You might be looking at your electric bill and wondering if your AC is running harder this year because of hot weather. The smart thermostat’s analytics will display patterns across hours, days, weeks, months, and even years. You can then better understand the current consumption trends in your households.

Machine Learning

Rather than working to program the thermostat, some smart thermostats allow you to train it through machine learning. You usually begin by setting your preferred temperature, and systems with humidistats also allow you to target humidity levels. Learning systems will then study your usage patterns, such as home occupancy and response to big shifts in the weather. Once these kinds of smart thermostats have had a couple of weeks to adjust to your behavioral patterns, they can begin to turn the HVAC system off or on to fit your needs. This all happens without you ever intervening unless you choose to.

Diagnostics and Predictive Maintenance

Some smart thermostats monitor your HVAC’s performance so it can quickly diagnose problems. If it notices that the HVAC is cycling more often and having shorter cycles, the smart thermostat can send you a notice. Along with energy usage readouts, this allows you to get a well-rounded picture of your system’s performance. You can then determine whether you might wish to have one of our technicians check the system out.

There are also some smart thermostats that provide predictive maintenance alerts. If a set of HVAC performance patterns indicates that maintenance may be necessary before the system’s annual tune-up, the smart thermostat will notify you. Predictive furnace and AC maintenance also allows the thermostat to make very educated guesses about when to schedule maintenance based on your HVAC system model. If it knows certain models need filter changes a little sooner than others, for example, it can flag that and notify you.

In terms of savings, the biggest benefits of this approach to diagnostics and maintenance come from early intervention. The odds are lower that your HVAC system will run too hard because of a lack of lubrication, new filters, or repairs. This tends to save wear and tear and extend the lifespan of an HVAC unit.

Support for Zoned HVAC

Whether you have a typical HVAC system or a ductless one, zoning it can come in handy. This allows the HVAC system to send air to individual zones instead of heating or cooling your entire home at once. Some smart thermostats integrate with zoned HVAC systems to provide finer control. Depending on the design, you may even add thermostats for each of the zones. This is a useful approach for balancing airflow between a home’s upstairs and downstairs. Some people also use it to balance out temperatures, such as if one side of a house gets a lot of sun while another stays shaded most of the day. 

Lightfoot Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical has helped families in Weatherford, TX and other parts of North Texas since 1983. Our company has 24/7 live answering, and we can quickly schedule projects. We perform installations, repairs, and maintenance for a variety of air conditioning and heating solutions. Take advantage of our Total Care Club to schedule regular maintenance and save money in the process, too.

If you’re ready to add a smart thermostat to the HVAC system in your Weatherford home, make an appointment with the heating and cooling services pros at Lightfoot Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.