Recently, we’ve received several questions about programmable thermostats from the HVAC.com community. This installment of HVAC Q&A will address Lucas from Florida’s question. He writes: “Dear HVAC.com team, I’m a new homeowner and I’m trying to find a way to lower my energy bills. I’ve heard a programmable thermostat can help, but what exactly is a programmable thermostat? What should I look for if I want to buy a programmable thermostat?” Luckily for Lucas, we love programmable thermostats at HVAC.com, so we can definitely help.
A programmable thermostat is a thermostat designed to automatically adjust the temperature in your home based on programmed settings. Programmable thermostats allow you to set a schedule for your units, delivering heating and cooling only when you need it and saving you hundreds of dollars over the life of your system. At its most basic, a programmable thermostat lets you set an operating schedule for your HVAC system, avoiding wasted energy on heating or cooling your home when you aren’t there.
Programmable thermostat features range from the simple to the high tech, so how do you know which ones are best for your home? Here are some of the main features to consider when choosing a programmable thermostat for your home:
A programmable thermostat can save you money and some give you the freedom to control your home’s temperature from anywhere in the world. Here are 4 high-tech programmable thermostats we recommend:
The Honeywell Lyric thermostat is a sleek, mobile-app controlled, high tech programmable thermostat that boasts big energy savings.
The Honeywell Lyric thermostat uses your cell phone’s location to determine how close you are to your home. When you are roughly 7-10 miles away, the Lyric will start warming/cooling your home so that the minute you step through the door, your home is the temperature you want. Additionally, the Fine Tune feature considers the humidity and outdoor temperature to ensure the temperature in your home feels like the temperature you want, no matter how humid or dry it is.
This type of Honeywell Thermostat also helps you manage your home energy system’s efficiency using shortcuts and what it calls Smart Cues.
Instead of trying to remember what that perfect dinner party temperature is or how warm your parents like it when they stay over, set up shortcuts labeled for key events. Smart Cues allow you to monitor your system via an alert system on your smartphone. The Honeywell Lyric thermostat will send you alerts when you need to change your air filters, when there is an extreme change in temperature or when your system is acting out of character.
The Honeywell TH9320WFV6007thermostat is a voice-activated, mobile-app controlled programmable thermostat that allows users to customize and enhance their HVAC system’s efficiency. Like the Lyric, this Honeywell thermostat includes an alert system that lets homeowners know when to change filters and when their systems are acting up.
This voice-activated thermostat allows you to change the temperature in your home simply by talking to your thermostat. It uses Far-Field technology to understand your voice commands from across the room, making temperature control simple. If you are not close enough to the thermostat for it to understand your voice commands, Honeywell’s Total Connect Comfort mobile application allows you to adjust your home’s climate via your cell phone or tablet.
The Nest programmable thermostat system will help your HVAC system run more efficiently. Using Wi-Fi technology, mobile app control and a host of energy saving features, this programmable thermostat will save you money and increase your system’s health right away.
The Nest features both auto-schedule and auto-away features that control how hard your system works. After around a week of use, the Nest system adjusts to the temperature settings you’ve chosen and adjusts your temperature based on your preferences. If you’ve forgotten to manually set your system to away, the Nest system senses you’re out and adjusts temperatures accordingly
Additionally, the Nest saves you money by automatically adjusting to being placed in direct sunlight (Sunblock), lets you know what temperatures will save you money based on several outdoor/indoor factors (The Leaf), and automatically runs the AC less when the humidity in your home is lower than normal (Airwave). These are only some of the ways Nest can help you.
Ecobee Smart Si ThermostatThe Ecobee Smart Si thermostat is an intuitive, cost-saving high tech thermostat. Ecobee’s Wi-Fi-enabled thermostat allows you to link to the Ecobee mobile app and monitor your home’s energy use from your cell phone, tablet or computer. This allows homeowners to save up to 23 percent in home energy costs.
Using Wi-Fi, the Smart Si intuitively knows when your system should be running and when it should be off. It also uses your home’s particular energy profile and reads outdoor temperature cues to determine the most efficient ways to heat/cool your home.
High tech programmable thermostats can be a big money saver for the typical homeowner. In order to determine the best system for your home, review your home’s HVAC needs, as well as how you would like to interact with your system. Use the guide above to start your research and feel free to contact the specialists at HVAC.com if you need any advice.
