Thermostats play a very important role in our lives. They allow us to regulate the temperature in our homes, which in turn affects our comfort, energy bills, and even our health. With so many different types of thermostats on the market, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for your home. In this article, we’ll provide you with all the information you need to choose the top thermostat for your needs.
First, let’s take a look at some of the most common types of thermostats:
Programmable Thermostats
These thermostats allow you to create a custom heating and cooling schedules, so you can save energy and money on your cooling and heating bills. You are in complete control of your home’s temperature when you want it to be warm or cool.
Programmable thermostats allow for different combinations of heating and cooling temperatures at different times throughout the day. You can program them to fit your schedule for work, sleep, school, etc. They are especially convenient if you have an irregular schedule, constant renovations going on at your house, or multiple people in different households living in one place (like college students). These thermostats make it easy to ensure each person’s comfort zone is met with minimal energy usage.
A programmable thermostat will pay for itself with energy savings of up to 20% after 13 weeks. Plus these thermostats come equipped with features that may help improve your indoor air quality, such as a filter change monitor and a reminder to change the air filters in your heating and cooling units.
Voice Activated Thermostat
The Nest Learning Thermostat is the world’s first smart thermostat. It learns your daily habits and adjusts itself to meet your individual temperature needs in ways that you never thought possible. The Nest knows when you’re home or away based on how well it recognizes your phone’s location using its smart sensors built into the device. If it senses that there is no activity around your house when you should be home (based on when you usually come and go), the Nest will adjust the temperature accordingly so that you’re not putting unnecessary strain on your heating and cooling units.
The Nest also notifies you when the air filters need changing, knows how long it will take for your home to heat or cool based on current weather conditions, and can be controlled from anywhere using a tablet or smartphone. Sometimes, in case the Nest thermostat is blowing hot air, it may automatically switch from heating to cooling mode until the issue is resolved. Remember, the Nest Learning Thermostat can be voice-activated so you don’t even need to pick up a gadget in order to control it.
Wi-Fi Enabled Programmable Thermostats
A Wi-Fi-enabled programmable thermostat is just like a standard programmable thermostat, but with an added benefit of remote access via smartphones or tablets. Whether you’re at work or on vacation, you can control your home’s temperature from anywhere using your electronic devices. You’ll also receive alerts when there are changes in humidity, temperature, or if there’s an issue with your heating or cooling equipment (like if it shuts off). If you have multiple smart devices throughout your house (like smartphones, tablets, laptops), these Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats are perfect for you.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to be running a Wi-Fi router in order to use your smart devices to control the thermostat remotely. If you’re not comfortable wiring the network, there are Wi-Fi-enabled plug-in versions available that can be installed without even having to use a screwdriver.
Motion Sensing Thermostats
With motion sensing thermostats, there is no need for any buttons or controls whatsoever — just wave your hand over the sensor and the heating or cooling system turns on, or off. These thermostats are great for homes that have multiple people coming and going at all hours of the day because they don’t require anyone to fiddle with them. They automatically adjust the temperature according to occupancy without ever having to completely power down.
Manual/Mechanical Thermostat
This is your standard thermostat. You can control the temperature of your home by increasing or decreasing the setting on this old-school model, and it is usually only available in a single stage (cooling/heating). They’re inexpensive and offer limited programming capabilities. If you want to reduce your energy usage and increase comfort, you’ll need to replace this obsolete option with something more efficient.
Furthermore, manual thermostats are only capable of controlling one HVAC system (heating, cooling, ventilation) at a time. If you’re heating or cooling more than one system in your home, or if you want to control separate rooms’ individual temperatures, this option isn’t for you.
Digital nonprogrammable thermostat
In the modern era, it’s easy to forget that not everyone has a home with heating and cooling. That’s why many people are turning to digital nonprogrammable thermostats for their homes because they’re inexpensive and offer limited programming capabilities. If you want to reduce your energy usage and increase comfort, you’ll need to replace this obsolete option with something more efficient. Also, as mentioned before, these thermostats can only control one HVAC system (heating, cooling, ventilation) at a time.
These can also be used in conjunction with your programmable thermostat for increased control.
Installation advice
When installing your new thermostat, be sure to turn off your power at the circuit breaker and test all wiring for power. This is a required process, as there’s an increased risk of electrical shock and damage to your equipment if precautions aren’t taken. If you’re feeling uncomfortable about making changes to your home’s heating and cooling system, hire an HVAC professional for assistance.
Also, make sure that you buy a certified model with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) mark on it. Plus, before installing any electronic devices (thermostats included), most utility companies require notification or verification of installation beforehand.
There are many different types of thermostats on the market, so it can be difficult to decide which one is best for your home. We’ve outlined the most popular options above with a brief description of their benefits and drawbacks. Hopefully, this will help make your decision easier! Which type of thermostat do you think would work best for your needs?
