"Smart" Thermostats Provide Better Climate Management: Energy Products Articles: Eco20/20

"Smart" Thermostats Provide Better Climate Management

Imagine being on vacation and learning an unexpected cold front is moving through the area back home. Since this was not expected, you turned down your furnace to save energy and money since no one would be home, but you do not want to get home to an ice box. You pull over at a rest stop, pull out your laptop, sign on to a personalized website and adjust your home's thermostat to warm up the house before you get home.

This is not science fiction. With the introduction of "smart" thermostats, it is a reality. Climate management has greatly evolved since the first coal or wood furnaces used gravity and the knowledge that hot air rises and cold air falls to heat homes. Gas or oil furnaces, along with forced air systems made creature comfort more reliable. Electric and hot water radiant heating systems also added to comfort levels most people demand.

Thermostats allowed homes to remain at a reasonably constant temperature without personal intervention, introducing the beginning of home automation. Today, programmable and smart thermostats take that a step further, allowing temperature variations in the home based on the residents' desires.

Environmental controls have come a long way since the first person built a fire in the cave. Temperatures can be set at one temperature when the family is at home and at another when they are on vacation or gone for the day. The comfort level is maintained automatically, eliminating the need to change the thermostat manually. Not too many years ago, you would turn down the thermostat before you left for work and then, while sometimes shivering, would turn it back up when you arrived home and waited for the house to heat up. Programmable thermostats have solved that problem.

Many of today's homes are designed with different 'zones' for heating and cooling systems and can use a smart thermostat to adjust the temperature in each zone. Bedrooms can be cooler for a more comfortable sleeping environment, while other rooms can be maintained warmer. Today, smart thermostats can connect each zone into one control panel using either wireless or hard-wired technology, allowing individual zones to be controlled by one panel.

Home efficiency is the goal of smart thermostats that will not only enhance the home's comfort but will save energy as well. Reducing energy use is high on the list of everyone looking to help save the environment. By reducing home heating and cooling requirements, less energy is needed to be produced, thereby reducing the greenhouse gases emitted.

While smart thermostats may initially appear complicated, requiring an engineering degree to set up, most manufacturers have integrated touch-screen technologies to create a friendly user interface. Green living may be touted as a goal by most people who use smart thermostats, but they are not turning their noses up at the lower utility bills realized by their use. It just does not pay to heat, or cool, your home when no one is there, yet has the climate control available for your comfort when you are.