Should you upgrade to smart thermostat for your HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)? It sounds tempting except it feels troublesome in many ways. Such as, the many brands available and the overwhelming amount of functions and abilities the smart thermostat can do for you. But one crucial question remain: Is upgrading to smart thermostat suitable for your home or office? In this article we shall go over what are the benefits of having a smart thermostat. Then, reasons for and not. Hopefully by understanding them, you can decide and can enable great benefits such as bill saving and healthly temperature settings.
Quick Disclaimer: All the information on this post is for your reference only. For professional advices do seek the nearest professionals near you.
What does a smart thermostat do?
Smart thermostat is a device that enables more than automation of a home or office’s heating, cooling, ventilation. The most fundamental automation functions, like in a programmable thermostat, include scheduling and setting temperatures. What makes a smart thermostat different, is that it can connect to Wi-Fi and be controlled either manually or automatically through the preset functions based on formula and data gathered. Here are a list of things that compares the different thermostat generations:
| Smart Thermostat | Programmable Thermostat | Manual Thermostat | |
| Set Temperature |  | | |
| Scheduling | | | |
| Connects to Wi-Fi | | ||
| Remote Control | | ||
| App/ Web Interface | | ||
| Notifications | | ||
| Voice Control | | ||
| Energy Tracking | | ||
| Store HVAC data | | ||
| Analysis HVAC data | | ||
| Energy Tracking | |
* The above is a tallied list in general, it does not necessary mean any given kind of thermostat have the functions *
Amazing reasons of YES you should upgrading to smart thermostat
There are so many great reasons to upgrade to a smart thermostat. The following are many of the benefits you will be able to enjoy with the technology.
- A smart thermostat is designed with smart logics and functions (see above section), specifically to manage your home and/ or office’s HVAC.
- Comparing to the older generations of manual and programmable thermostat, smart thermostats are much more accurate.
- Different sensors and IoT can be connected or act as data collectors for your smart thermostat.
- Smart thermostats have better programmed functions and data analysing abilities, thus allowing for more sofisticated settings, resulting in the best energy efficient control.
- Apps and web interface are usually part of the package and can help you remotely, remote control your smart thermostat.
- Smart thermostats can help you better manage your HVAC allowing for better air quality control.
- Smart thermostats can help you save money.
Precautions and note:
- You need a ‘C’ wire at location of your thermostat to install a smart thermostat. Basically, a ‘C’ wire ensures a continous flow of electricity to your smart thermostat. If you don’t know about it nor need to install one with help, consult a electrician.
- There are tons of self-help resources for those who likes to work out the solution themselves, however you must take all precautions and if in doubt consult for help.
- As every model and every smart thermostat are different, the benefits and funtions are not the same. Compatibility might be an issue.
Why might you NOT want to upgrading to smart thermostat
While we strongly encourage upgrading to a smart thermostat, there are times and reasons that render it not for you. The below are some of them.
- You are always home (It goes by that if you are home, you manage it tightly and won’t be wasting energy).
- You are comfortable with setting the thermostat once a day, manually or whenever you like.
- You are really not that techy and simple is best.
- When your home or office are older and does not have a dedicated power line for your HVAC system.
- You live in a place where the weather is decent and doens’t have much use for HVAC.
Whether or not you choose to upgrade your HVAC with a smart thermostat, understand that there isn’t a perfect solution. You might already have amazing energy saving appliances and doens’t need one. Or that you are really into these IoT gadgets and it is absolutely perfect and cool to own one installed at your technology future home. Find a solution and researc
References
- Wikipedia. (Aug 6, 2022). Smart thermostat. Wikipedia. Retrieved Nov 28, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_thermostat
- Alina Bradford. (Aug 22, 2022). How Do Smart Thermostats Work? SafeWise. Retrieved Nov 28, 2022, from https://www.safewise.com/smart-home-faq/how-do-smart-thermostats-work
- Liam McCabe. (Aug 17, 2022). Are Smart Thermostats Worth It? Consumer Reports. Retrieved Nov 28, 2022, from https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/thermostats/are-smart-thermostats-worth-it-a7822875275
Written by Louis Ng for Intelligence of Care, Nov 30, 2022