For most of the year here in Victoria, coming home to a cold house is a part of life. How many times have you rushed in the door after work, chilled to the bone from a freezing downpour, only to wait at least half an hour before the house even starts warming up? While some of us have had programmable thermostats that can be set to a timer, these only turn on and off regardless of whether or not you are home. Well, thanks to newer technology, you need never come home to a freezing – or stuffy – house ever again. By installing heating with a smart WiFi-enabled thermostat, controlling your heating or cooling will only be as far away as your phone.
What is a smart thermostat?
Unlike a regular thermostat or ‘box on the wall’ of your home, a smart thermostat is connected to your WiFi. This connectivity allows you to change the temperature of your home from a remote device. Let’s say you’re at the office and want to turn the heating on for when the kids get home from high school. Just open the relative app from your phone, turn on the heating, and the house will be toasty by the time the kids walk in the door. Naturally, this can work for cooling as well. If it’s been a sweltering day and you know the house will be on the sticky side, activate the air conditioning on your way home.
Smart thermostats aren’t just for remote use either. If you’re comfy on the couch or in bed and want to change the thermostat, do it from your phone without getting up. Smart thermostats also allow for high levels of customisation with a user-friendly interface. You can program your heating and cooling around your family’s work and school schedule, to be responsive to current weather patterns or operate based on how many people are in your home.
How does a smart thermostat work?
Your smart WiFi thermostat will be activated after your heating and cooling system has been installed. Your installer will guide you through the process of downloading the relevant app so you can start controlling your system at any time, from anywhere.
You can either control your smart thermostat using your phone or tablet, or just like traditional thermostats, you can use the touch-based interface on the device. This means you can always control the temperature even if your phone is dead or your WiFi is patchy. Since many of these Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats will get to know your habits over time, they can even recommend a suitable schedule for you. Some models can also alert you when you need to change the air filter, diagnose an error, remind you when you are due for a service, and even suggest more energy-efficient choices.
Smart thermostats save you money
Smart thermostats aren’t an expensive luxury. They can identify where you are wasting energy and recommend smarter, money-saving choices. Because you can control your home’s temperature wherever you are, you never have to worry about leaving the heating or cooling on and getting unnecessarily large bills. Gas and electricity are the most significant contributors to your overall household energy usage. Because smart thermostats enable greater climate control, you can run a more energy-efficient home.
Plus, you can easily access information about how much energy you have been using through your relevant app. This gives you a detailed insight into your energy usage on a day-to-day basis, in different seasons and over long periods of time. Based on this intel, you can adjust your thermostat to deliver optimum and more economical temperatures all year round.
Can I change my old thermostat to a smart thermostat?
While they are becoming the standard choice for new home builders, it will depend on your current heating system as to whether or not a smart thermostat will work. Some older systems may not be compatible with a smart WiFi thermostat. We know homeowners that have bought smart thermostats online only to discover they won’t work with their existing systems. This can be a disappointing waste of money. To make sure, we recommend you check with your heating and cooling services provider who can then provide you with a suitable solution and install it correctly.
Get smarter heating and cooling with North West
As your heating and cooling solutions specialist in the greater Geelong region, we supply a range of technologies that can deliver the best solution for your home and budget. Contact us or call 03 5277 1111.