Smart Thermostats – Are They Worth It?

5 Reasons to Install a Smart Thermostat

In a word, Smart Thermostats are absolutely worth it. After all, they help put an end to the age-old question of “who touched the thermostat!?”

Manual programmable thermostats still have their place, if you never leave home or you have an ironclad schedule. However, you’ll want to consider a Smart Thermostat if, despite your best efforts, your energy bill keeps rising, your home is never quite the right temperature, or you always forget to program it.

Smart Ways to Use a Smart Thermostat

A) You’ve gone to work and the day has gotten progressively warmer. With a traditional thermostat, you’d have to run home to turn it down. With a Smart Thermostat, you can use your mobile app to adjust the temperature remotely without missing a beat.

B) You’ve gone on vacation and turned the heat way down to keep from heating an empty house. By the way, we recommend lowering the heat in an empty house by 7 to 10˚C to save on energy costs. Using your mobile app, you can either program the thermostat to increase the temperature at a certain date or time. You can also adjust it to turn on an hour or so before you get home.

C) Your kids have a baseball game at the same time every Saturday. Your Smart thermostat will use machine learning to “learn” when to turn the heat or A/C on and off, depending on when you’ll be home. Part of a growing roster of Smart Home Devices with endless features, these devices are becoming indispensable for the savvy consumer.

Smart Home Thermostats are Popular For 5 Great Reasons

1. Energy Savings

At Lockhart, we’re big on helping homeowners create energy savings. We also love converting homes to an eco-friendly place to hang your hat. One of the simplest ways to do this is with a Smart Thermostat. Being able to monitor your usage using a mobile app while away from home is an easy solution to spiking heating bills.

2. Cost Savings

According to a 2019 article from BC Hydro.com, “a single 1000W electric baseboard heater can use 900 kWh per year, if on for 6 hours a day through the heating season.” At today’s electricity rates, that’s a cost of over $100 per year.

Hand in hand with energy savings is cost savings. Because your Smart Thermostat “learns” your routine and knows when to gradually lower and increase the temperature, your home is kept at a steady temperature throughout the day and night. This reduces those energy spikes we talked about above. This is because your heating and cooling system isn’t having to work harder to suddenly cool or heat the house.

Of course, the more efficient your heating and cooling system is, the better this works. As an example, an air-to-air heat pump will see better cost savings than if you were using electric baseboard heaters.

We talk about this in a previous blog post about whether it’s better to leave heat on or off when you’re not at home. In that post, we explain that “experts estimate that lowering the temperature by as little as 7 degrees while you’re away can cut up to 10% off your energy bill, which can really lower your household expenses in the long term.” To learn more, be sure to read this post and others in our monthly blog.

If you’re noticing drastic swings in your energy bills despite your best efforts to maintain a steady temperature, we’d love to talk to you about how an energy-efficient heat pump can save you money and frustration.

If conditions are right, you may also want to consider a GeoExchange system. A renewable energy technology, GeoExchange can play a key part in reducing your energy usage to almost zero.

3. Convenient to Use

Because Smart Thermostats are controlled by mobile devices over Wi-Fi (including voice command) they’re very user-friendly. Whether you have Android or IOS, most thermostats are compatible with both and each brand offers its own methods of adjusting, pre-setting and controlling your Smart Thermostat on the fly. There are many options and reputable brands out there that let you be in control and see your usage in real-time. Most devices also have an occupancy sensor, detecting when you’re home and adjusting the thermostat accordingly to pre-learned temperature preferences.

4. Comfort in Every Room

Modern technology lets you create zoning for different rooms and areas of your home for personalized temperature control. Using zoning, you can turn the temperature down in rooms that are used less often, or don’t need as much heating, while making common areas comfortable with uniform temperatures.

Depending on the Smart Thermostat models and HVAC set up you choose, our experts at Lockhart Industries can make your home the perfect temperature year-round. To control multiple thermostats by features like voice command, you can also connect them to smart home hubs or platforms like Amazon Alexa.

5. Compatible with Many Heating Methods

We offer many financing options for upgrading your heating and cooling needs to make it easier than ever to improve your home’s climate control. If you’re not quite ready to switch to a heat pump, ductless split, or geothermal technology, you can still create some savings. Smart Thermostats are compatible with electric baseboards, electric wall heating, forced-air heating systems and even electric in-floor heating.

You’ll just need to know what models and brands are compatible with the heating and cooling methods in your home. BC Hydro has a good Thermostat buying guide that explains which Smart Thermostat models could work with your heating system, by voltage, type of heating and cooling system and more.

At Lockhart Industries, we’ve been serving happy customers since 1981. We’re experts in providing high-quality and innovative climate control solutions. To learn more about integrating Smart Thermostats in your home or business, contact us for service in South Vancouver Island. Call (250) 748-1731 or request an estimate to get started today.