What is a smart thermostat?

1. What is a smart thermostat?
2. What can a smart thermostat do?
3. Does a smart thermostat save money?
4. How does a wireless thermostat work?

A smart thermostat’s features really depend on the model. Different smart thermostats have different functions, so, if you’re looking into getting a smart thermostat, make sure you check whether it can do everything you’ll want it to.

So, what does a smart thermostat do? Based on its features and your own choices, it’ll typically be some combination of:

• Letting you control your heating with a smartphone or tablet app, meaning you can switch the heating on or off even when you’re not at home.
• Letting you control the heating with your voice.
• Letting you control the temperature of your hot water.
• Changing the heating settings based on your location. For example, when you’re getting close to home, your smart thermostat could switch the heating on so it’s warm when you arrive.
• Alerting you if the heating is still on when you leave the house or turning the heating off automatically when you’re not home.
• Alerting you if you’ve left a window open when the heating is running.
• Learning your habits or schedule and adjusting the heating based on your recorded preferences.
• Keep a record of how and when you use your heating, helping you spot patterns and adjust your energy use. Just like a smart meter.

Unlike a standard thermostat, a smart thermostat can let you set a heating schedule and react to changes in the temperature of your home, e.g., by turning the heating on when it gets chilly.

Before buying your thermostat, consider: ideally, what is the purpose of a smart thermostat in your home? By looking into your options with a clear idea of what you want, you can make sure you make an informed choice.

Do smart thermostats save money? It really depends on how they’re used, and what your current energy setup already allows.

If you already have a standard thermostat and a boiler with timer settings, you may already be able to manage your heating effectively – for example, using programmer controls to turn heating on and off. These basic functions can already help save money without the need for a smart thermostat. 

The difference mostly lies in its remote-control features. Being able to adjust settings from a phone remotely, like switching the heating on when you’re on your way home, can offer more convenience or peace of mind.

Monitoring your energy usage can encourage you to be more mindful of your consumption habits and could help you save costs in the long run. But that’s also something that a smart meter can help out with.

Like other wifi-enabled devices, a smart thermostat will receive instructions from an app wirelessly over the internet. It’ll then pass those instructions along to your boiler. Wifi-enabled boilers can pick this up wirelessly, but other boilers are likely to need a wired connection. Both your controlling device and the thermostat itself will need to have internet access for your smart thermostat to work.

A lot of boilers aren’t wifi-enabled, so how does a smart thermostat work with those? There’s typically a wired element even to smart thermostats: they’ll come with a receiver that will need to be wired to your boiler, or the thermostat will be wired to your boiler directly. This should only be done by a trained professional.

Before buying a smart thermostat, it’s worth checking that it’s compatible with your boiler. You’ll usually be able to find this information in the product description or on the thermostat manufacturer’s website.