HVAC thermostats have come a long way from the days when a simple dial or slide mechanism controlled the temperature throughout the entire home. The modern-day versions have embraced technology in ways that make it easier to maximize comfort and save money.
At Jack Hall Plumbing and Heating, our team has seen thermostats evolve into useful tools that homeowners can easily operate to get the most out of their HVAC systems. Here are some of the newest tech features that our customers are using.
Wi-Fi Connectivity: With a Wi-Fi-compatible thermostat, you can use a computer or mobile device to adjust your thermostat remotely. Smart thermostats with Wi-Fi connectivity often have additional internet-based features. These range from using online weather forecasts to make changes to their HVAC schedule to monitoring the GPS location of your smartphone and heating or cooling your home for you before you walk in the door.
Proximity Sensors: Most modern thermostats feature a sensor that brightens the screen when someone approaches and then slowly fades when they walk away. It makes finding and adjusting the thermostat in the middle of the night easy and doubles as a great night light. Also, because the screen isn’t always on, it’s an energy saver.
Energy Tracking: Many new thermostats can monitor energy usage throughout the home and provide real-time reports on a mobile app. The reports track each room of the house so you can adjust the temperatures in different rooms to optimize energy consumption and reduce your power bill.
Geofencing: This is a great feature for people who always forget to adjust the thermostat when leaving the house. Geofencing runs on a mobile app that tracks your location and automatically sets the appropriate temperature when you’ve left home.
Room Sensors: Older thermostats could only gauge the temperature near where they were mounted, so the temperature throughout the house was based on that number, ultimately leaving certain rooms too hot or cold. Smart room sensor features address this by giving the thermostat house-wide data, so the entire home is comfortable.
Touchscreens: A digital programmable thermostat with a user-friendly touchscreen interface makes HVAC system adjustments and programming a breeze. Some touchscreen models also feature weather forecasts, air quality information, and more.
Simple Programming: Smart thermostats allow for more options when it comes to setting temperatures to match your schedule. For example, when no one is home during the day, you can set the HVAC accordingly and schedule it to turn on closer to when people generally arrive at home. Some newer models also feature options that take customization to another level, including keeping different rooms at ideal temperatures and scheduling heating or cooling at specific times during the day or week.
Maintenance Alerts: Smart thermostats can monitor HVAC system performance and alert you about scheduled maintenance or irregularities such as excess energy use or equipment malfunctions that may require a service call. System alerts help homeowners proactively address potential issues and avoid expensive repairs or serious system breakdowns.
Learning Thermostats: Smart thermostats can learn your family’s optimal temperatures and make automatic adjustments. They self-program based on people’s movements in the home that they “learn” the patterns within about a week. The ability to make automatic adjustments isn’t only convenient, it saves on the energy bill.
Jack Hall Plumbing & Heating stays current with new HVAC technology
At Jack Hall Plumbing & Heating, our team stays current with all the new HVAC technology to keep our customers’ homes more comfortable and energy efficient. If you’re considering an upgrade to our current HVAC system or are ready for a completely new unit, contact us today to learn more about what modern options offer and how Jack Hall can make them work efficiently in your home.