Get more from your smart thermostat

From increasing your home’s comfort level to making life more convenient, smart thermostats can do a lot. Are you using yours to its full potential?

Installing a smart thermostat will help you better control your home’s temperature, so you can reduce your energy consumption and save on heating and cooling. To take full advantage of your smart thermostat and its capabilities, it’s important to understand all the features available. Here are the basics to get you started.

Know your home and your thermostat

Knowing what your thermostat can do will help you find new ways to increase comfort and convenience while saving more energy. But you also must know your home first.

Take the time to think about your home and your habits. For example, think about whether there are any rooms that are colder than others, and if there are certain rooms that you spend more time in than others. You should also consider your day-to-day schedule and if you are typically at home during the same time in the evening. Acknowledging these things will help you determine what features to use, and how to use them.

Sensors make for smarter thermostats

Your smart thermostat automatically adjusts to keep your home comfortable, but also using sensors can give you added control over your comfort.

Room sensors read the temperature of the room to help manage hot and cold spots. For example, your thermostat may be placed in the hallway, which is typically cooler than your kitchen. By placing a sensor in your kitchen, you can help control the temperature for that area and ensure heating remains low. Sensors can be easily moved from room to room, giving you the freedom to prioritize which room should be a certain temperature at a certain time.

In many older homes, thermostats are often located close to windows or air ducts, which can affect the reading and adjust your home’s temperature unnecessarily or incorrectly. To offset that, use sensors to get a more effective reading of the overall temperature of your home.

If you’re new to sensors, start by placing one in your coldest room and one in the warmest room. This will help average the temperature to increase the overall comfort in your home. From there, you can set up as many sensors as you want.

Using the right features

As for features, there are plenty of ways your smart thermostat can work smarter for your home. You may already use common features, like controlling the temperature from your smartphone on your commute, so your home’s comfortable as you arrive home. However, there are a few lesser-known features that can help you save energy, and potentially money, on your energy bills.

For example, did you know some smart thermostats will remind you to replace your furnace filter every three months? That’s useful to keep your maintenance on track, so your heating equipment runs efficiently. 

In the summer months, your smart thermostat can also run your AC longer to help remove excess moisture, so you don’t need to run a dehumidifier. 

Plus, your smart thermostat can reduce cooling costs by automatically switching off your air conditioner compressor once your place is cool enough, then switching on the fan to spread cool air around instead.

Take some time to explore available features while keeping an eye on your energy bill. Most smart thermostats can send you data reports that will help you identify what works, and what features may be more beneficial to you than others. Features are constantly being added and upgraded, so make sure you regularly accept updates on your smart thermostat app.