If there is one thing no family agrees on, it's the ideal temperature for the home thermostat. Individual temperature preferences can vary wildly from person to person. A smart thermostat can help keep everyone in your home happy, no matter their verse in the song of ice or fire. Here's how.
1. Keep Dad happy by cutting energy bills
Smart thermostats do more than display the temperature on an easy-to-read LED screen — they also learn when the family wants the temperature to be set a certain way. When thinking about the ideal temperature for reducing utility bills, you might wonder what temperature is best. Is it 72? Is it 78? Regardless of your preference, it can be tough to maintain that temperature throughout the day, especially if your home lies in direct sunlight.
Smart thermostats make use of an "eco" mode that lets the temperature climb (or drop, depending on the time of year) before it activates. This mode only takes effect when no one is home. During the day while the kids are at school and you're at work, your home doesn’t need to be heated or cooled. The thermostat will activate a few hours before you come home, so the house is the perfect temperature when you get there.
What about the weekends when everyone is home during the day? You can disable “eco” mode and remotely adjust or set the temperature, so the house stays comfortable when you are home.
2. Keep Mom happy with programmable schedules
Imagine this: Mom works from home and likes to keep the house at 72 degrees, but the kids prefer it a few degrees warmer. She can program the thermostat to her preferred temperature during the hours she is at home working, but set it to heat up a bit before the kids get off the bus. Smart thermostats can perform these tasks automatically, so you never have to worry about forgetting to change the temperature during a busy workday.
The programmability can also make everyone happier by promoting better sleep. Sleep studies have shown that humans reach deeper levels of sleep when the room is cooler. Program the smart thermostat to fall to between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit at night and then heat up as dawn approaches. This gradual increase in temperature also makes it easier to wake up without that groggy feeling.
3. Keep the kids happy with voice commands and smartphone control
Smaller children often get cold and may not enjoy the same temperatures as adults. On days when the house is just a bit too cool for them, you can increase the temperature without reaching for the thermostat by asking a smart assistant. Another option is to open the app on your phone and raise the temperature manually. Smart thermostats remove the need to get up and adjust the temperature at the source.
4. Keep rooms at the temperature you want with zone control
If you have a zoned HVAC system and a compatible smart thermostat, you can keep everyone in the home happy by setting specific temperatures in different rooms. This is particularly useful for those with larger homes and areas that only get used at certain times. For example, if the garage doubles as a workroom on the weekends, program the thermostat to heat or cool that zone starting on Saturday morning and to turn off on Sunday evening.
You will need an individual temperature sensor for each zone you create, but compatible smart thermostats make it possible to control the temperature in each part of the home.
The ideal home temperature varies from person to person. End the battle of the thermostat once and for all with a smart thermostat that can be programmed to meet everyone's needs.
