Celebrate the 21st century with the next evolution of home thermostat – the Wi-Fi thermostat! This is a newer type of thermostat that builds on previous technology with new programming features, improved energy efficiency, improved feedback and more. These are “Smart” thermostats that sync up with a Wi-Fi router and give you access and control via a computer and/or app.
From Control4.com:
” Temperature Control
First and foremost, your thermostat should excel at controlling the temperature in your home.
* Heating & Cooling Stages – Most homes only have a furnace and an AC unit. Some installations may have a more sophisticated setup that involves multiple heating or cooling stages based on the level of heat needed. Not all thermostats can control 2, 3 or more heating and cooling stages. Check your current thermostat and make sure you purchase one that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.
* Temperature Swing – change in degrees that will turn the HVAC back on, the smaller the number the more frequently it will come on, the larger the number the more energy you will save
* Programmable Fan – if you use a whole house fan to cool your home this will be an important feature to consider
* Keypad Lock – a great feature if you want to prevent others from tampering with your settings
* Auto Changeover – allows the thermostat to automatically determine when to switch back and forth between heating and cooling.
Energy Management
If you’re looking to decrease your carbon footprint – or simply your gas and electricity bills – some Wi-Fi thermostats are better than others. Various features help you conserve energy by only running your system when you are home or by learning your habits to automatically create a schedule.
* Scheduling – classification of set points for: 7 (same for each day), 5-2 (Monday-Friday & Saturday/Sunday), 5-1-1 (Monday-Friday & Saturday & Sunday), 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 (different each day)
* Vacation Mode – the ability to quickly turn off all schedules when you are away from home or on vacation
* Automatic – if the thermostat learns and/or adapts to your use and automatically and turns on and off based on your use
* Feedback – ideal for monitoring energy usage and savings, some may even send you a text or email to let you know how you are doing
* Geofencing – will trigger your thermostat to turn your HVAC system on based on your GPS location (using your smartphone
* Target Temperature Time – a number in terms of minutes of how long it will take your system to reach its target temperature
Sensors
A thermostat in a dark and deserted hallway can only monitor the temperature in that hallway. Some Wi-Fi thermostats can use additional sensors spread throughout your home to more accurately heat or cool your home.
* Zones – relatively new to Wi-FI thermostat, temperature sensors can be placed throughout your home to determine if the system should be on or off
* Weather – because a Wi-Fi thermostat is connected to the Internet, it can use local weather conditions to determine operation automatically
* Humidity – for those wanting to maintain a specific humidity, a built-in or communicating humidity sensor can be used determine if the system should be on or off
* Motion – limits the use of you HVAC system to periods when motion has been detected (ideally to detect when someone is home)
* Status Indicators – a built-in diagnostic tool to let you know if your system is running efficiently; often a new filter can make a big difference.”
If you’d like to consider a “smart” thermostat for your home, call us up at 865-774-9240 and let’s get to talking about it!
