How Smart Thermostat In 2019 Will Save Money This Winter?

As winter nears, a range of energy-saving heating/cooling systems start taking rounds in trying to convince you to switch to them. But can such products actually save you hundreds of dollars on your annual heating bills? Do you want to save a bundle by effectively using your appliances this winter? Energy-efficient smart thermostats are considered highly effective in slashing those utility bills. There are several ways you can conserve energy like checking air leak regions at home and ensuring the machines are in good shape, but these don’t really help to reduce your energy bills significantly.  

 

This is where the new-age smart thermostats step in. An average Australian spends about $99 a week on energy, the highest in the world. Of this, a whopping 60-70% accounts for energy usage by thermostats. Thermostats, when used efficiently can help save up to 30% of energy expenditure. Home automation systems make homes more efficient in terms of energy usage.

 

Thermostats are what control a home’s heating and cooling systems. Switching to a smart thermostat has helped users save up to 25% on their heating and cooling costs. Smart home products like a smart thermostat and smart air conditioner controller are readily available. There are high-end, expensive versions like Nest Learning Thermostat and better, affordable ones like B.One Eazy.

 

Here’s all that you need to know about smart thermostats.

 

What is a smart thermostat and how it works?

Smart thermostats are digitally active and help you control much more than just heating and cooling. They allow high levels of customization and optimization. Smart thermostats can help you fine tune the customization as per when you leave and come back from work, the weather and temperature of the day, and your routine schedule.

 

Smart thermostats are controlled remotely through an app or voice-enabled smart speakers. That means you can simply ask your thermostat to turn on or off or adjust the temperature. The reason these thermostats are termed “smart” is because, they “learn”:

 

• your usage pattern
• your work timings,
• what temperature you prefer at what time of the day,
• vacations
• seasonal changes  

and more.

They can be easily connected to a central home automation controlling hub that can be managed by using an app or by voice commands. Smart home hubs like that offered by B.One makes upgrading to a smart thermostat even easier as they are compatible with most brands of thermostats apart from their own.  

 

 

What can your smart thermostat do for you?

 

A lot, actually. Smart thermostats function like your regular, manual thermostats. But, they can be controlled and customized to your comfort and preference very easily. The most important thing is that they can be controlled remotely, without your physical presence. Forgot to turn the thermostat off? No problem. Just ask your hub to do it for you in a single click.

 

What’s even better is creating a custom schedule as per your need throughout the day. If you’re working and need it only in the mornings and evenings, smart thermostats allow you to create settings that automatically turn on or off the heating/ cooling systems or change the temperature on their own. You can even select from a range of set programs. In fact, these thermostats are designed to learn your usage pattern and work accordingly with maximum efficiency.

Now to the bigger question!

 

How will your smart thermostat actually help you save money?

Heating/ cooling of homes and offices is a major energy sink that literally eats up more than half of your energy expenditure. The biggest mistake people make in the usage of thermostats is that they operate on a single temperature throughout the season. Adjusting the thermostat to suit current weather or necessity can lead to 20-30% energy savings annually.

 

It is estimated that every one-degree adjustment of temperature equals to 1% saving on energy. Setting the thermostat one degree higher during the summers for 8-10 hours too can help you save up to 10% on energy annually.

 

This is where smart thermostats can help you save on energy! They automatically lower or raise the temperature as per conditions outside the home or whether anyone’s home or not. They provide you with energy usage patterns and data that help you assess your energy usage and make necessary changes.

 

What’s most convenient is that they can be operated without moving an inch from your seat. Your smart thermostat can be controlled by you from anywhere in the world.

 

2019 has ushered in a range of technologically advanced smart thermostats that offer a variety of features to make your home more comfortable and cut down on heating and cooling costs. Smart thermostats like those offered by Nest and B.One track your movements in and out of the house based on the GPS location on your phone and automatically switch on or off. The apps have become very user-friendly with a bright and colourful display for ease of use. Ecobee4, another smart thermostat has inbuilt humidity sensors and heats or cools the house accordingly. Most of these thermostats are Geofencing enabled so you can set at what preferred distance from home your devices should be turned on and off. Most importantly, these thermostats give detailed usage reports based on a range of metrics to make sure you use your heating/ cooling devices most efficiently.  

A smart thermostat is an investment you will not regret. It has changed the global scene on saving energy and adoption of green energy. The advantages of a smart thermostat in terms of energy savings, money savings, eco-friendliness definitely outweigh the price. A smart thermostat gives you a return on investment in about 2-3 years through just your energy savings. Not just savings on energy, also the flexibility and comfort in daily life it provides are unmatched.