Are Smart Thermostats Really Worth the Money?
A smart thermostat can help you control your home’s temperature remotely, and it can also reduce your energy consumption. It can learn from your cooling and heating behaviors, display energy usage in real-time, and adjust your system to save you money.
It can even detect if you’re home or away and automatically set the temperature to an appropriate level. It’s a convenient way to ensure your system isn’t running unnecessarily when you’re not there.
Pros
Smart thermostats use algorithms that learn your preferences and your schedule to adjust the heating and cooling levels of your home based on your habits. This can save you money on energy bills and keep your home comfortable.
They’re also often able to monitor air filters and other AC maintenance tasks and send notifications on your smartphone when they need changing. These features are worth the extra cost if you need to be more energy conscious.
Another big plus is that they’re easy to control with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. You can tell the system what temperature you want or set a vacation mode that automatically lowers the thermostat when you go on vacation.
They’re also often more energy-efficient than programmable models and can save you up to 20% on your home’s heating and cooling costs. They can also be remotely controlled from anywhere and can even work with other smart devices to automate more programmable functions.
Cons
Having an energy-efficient thermostat is a great way to save money and avoid expensive utility bills. Smart thermostats are programmable, allowing you to set specific temperatures that are ideal for the times of day you’re spending time at home.
A smart thermostat can also learn your habits and automatically adjust to the best heating schedule for your family’s routine. This is helpful if you must leave early for work or want to set the temperature for when you get home from vacation.
Another great feature of some smart thermostats is their ability to save energy by only kicking on the AC when it’s needed. This can save you a significant amount of money on your electricity bill, especially when paired with geofencing features that allow the thermostat to turn off the AC when everyone leaves the house.
While smart thermostats can certainly help you save money, it’s important to consider the long-term effects before making a purchase. If you are moving frequently or don’t stay in one place long enough for a smart thermostat to learn your habits, it may not be worth the investment.
Upfront Cost
The upfront cost of smart thermostats can seem like a huge amount of money, but it pays off in the long run with energy savings. Depending on the brand and model, they can cut your energy bill by 10-25% with a minimal investment.
They can also save you time, as you no longer must adjust your home’s temperature each time you leave the house. Instead, you can control your thermostat settings through an app on your smartphone or tablet.
A smart thermostat will learn your schedule, so it can automatically adjust its temperature to your preferences and make sure your home is a comfortable temperature when you’re home. It can also reduce the temperature in your home when you’re not around, saving you money on utility bills.
If you’re considering installing a smart thermostat, be sure to contact a certified technician to ensure the device will work with your home’s HVAC system. At Comfort Arrows, we offer courteous, expertly trained technicians & 100% satisfaction guarantees on all Energy-Efficient Home Smart Thermostat Installation Services in the Wheeling, Illinois area.
Long-Term Cost
Smart thermostats are an excellent investment that will save you money over the long run. The amount of savings depends on a variety of factors, including your location and energy costs.
In most places, smart thermostats can trim heating and cooling bills by about 8%, or about $50 per year. Savings can be higher in areas with cold winters or hot summers, or where energy prices are high.
Many smart thermostats also feature presence detection, which uses a smartphone app to determine when you’re home and create schedules for climate control that avoid wasting energy during times when no one is there.
Other features, like behavior learning, can also optimize your energy savings. For example, a smart thermostat might adjust your settings by a few degrees closer to the outside temperature if there’s a rain shower, saving you ten percent on heating run time.