Programmable Thermostats

As many of us are “buttoning up” our homes for the winter, something that is often overlooked is the thermostat to your home’s heating/cooling system.  There are three basic types of thermostats: traditional, programmable and ultra-modern smart thermostats. 

Traditional thermostats are pretty self-explanatory.  You set it to the temperature you desire and your heating and cooling system maintains that temperature at all times.  There’s never any variation unless you manually change the setting.  It’s simple…and very inefficient. 

The problem with a traditional thermostat is that it maintains the same temperature at all times.  That’s great if you don’t sleep or leave the house for work.  When you aren’t around or awake, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to keep your home a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer, and thereby realize a savings of about 10% annually on your utility bills? The average homeowner saves around $200 a year by installing and using a programmable thermostat.

Programmable thermostats have been around since the late 1960s, so it’s likely that your home may already have one installed.  If you do have one, are you using it?  Remember, your programmable thermostat doesn’t save energy or money if you’re using it like a traditional thermostat.

Sure, it takes a few minutes to re-program the thermostat when the weather means you’ll be heating instead of cooling, or vice versa.  But you should only have to spend that time at the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter, so there’s no reason to put it off.

"Smart” thermostats have been around for only a short while, but they are definitely the future of home comfort.  These ‘hi-tech’ thermostats use Wi-Fi to enable to control your home’s temperature, humidity, and ventilation, as well as lights and home security.  Like with all “smart” technology, there are different levels of control available and you decide how automated you want your home to be.  You control your home’s comfort via your phone, computer, or tablet.

Do you want to be reminded via a text message from your thermostat that you need to empty your dehumidifier?  Would you like your home to notify you that your heating and cooling equipment isn’t operating at peak efficiency and you should call a technician?  These thermostats have you covered.

If you want to upgrade a traditional thermostat to a programmable, or a programmable to a modern “smart” thermostat, give A.J. Perri a call.  Our technicians are professionals who know the ins and outs of thermostats. A thermostat is not a do-it-yourself project, no matter what the salesman at the hardware store says; improper installation will negatively affect how your heating and cooling system operates.

There’s a huge gap in technology between traditional thermostats and “smart” technology.  The choice is yours.