Most of us already know that a thermostat basically controls the temperature in your home by telling your furnace or air conditioner when to turn on and off. So, what makes one “Smart”?  Well, for one, Wi-Fi connectivity. A Smart thermostat allows you to stay “connected” with your Hamilton homes indoor climate, even if you are not there. But Wi-Fi connectivity is just the beginning of what makes a Smart thermostat, “Smart”. First, let’s take a quick look at what a non-programmable thermostat and a standard programmable thermostat can do.

A non-programmable thermostat is very basic; it will show you the temperature in the home and allow you to manually adjust it up or down. A programmable thermostat will not only allow you to manually adjust temperatures up and down, but also allow you to manually set times of day that will adjust temperatures up or down automatically, which can save energy and money. Typically, the programmed temperature settings depend on whether you are home or away. For example; by programming your heat setting lower while you are out during cold weather and having it return to a preferred setting just before you get home, will save on energy and therefore money. The same principal can be applied during the hotter weather by programming a warmer setting while out and then cooling back down just before you return.

A Smart thermostat is not only programmable, it can also learn from your behaviors, allows you to control the climate in your home remotely via Wi-Fi connectivity, show you energy consumption in real-time, and can even adjust themselves based on ambient conditions like humidity. Some, like the Ecobee 3 Smart Thermostat offer features like mobile apps for remote management, “learning” features that let it auto-program itself based on your habits by using up to 32 wireless remote sensors that can be placed in different rooms around the home.

Keep in mind that a regular thermostat is controlling your heating and cooling system based on the temperature of the home where the thermostat is mounted. The Ecobee 3 for instance, with its use of sensors which also include motion detection, can take temperature readings from more than one location in the home, notice if anyone is home, detect if someone is in a room(s) with a sensor and make heating and cooling decisions based on that data. The unit will then store this data and continue to learn from new incoming data in order to make future heating and cooling decisions.

There are many more features to Smart thermostats, but basically, depending on the model, the Smart thermostat can be the ultimate information station for your heating and cooling system. It can allow you to monitor and make adjustments yourself from just about anywhere connectivity is available, or with some units, you can let it learn and make all the adjustments for you.

For more information about Smart thermostats or to have one installed in your home, Langton Mechanical has been serving the Hamilton and surrounding area for over 20 years and we would be happy to assist you.