Is a Wifi Thermostat Right For Your Home?

There are two fundamental ways to control your heating and cooling energy efficiency. Stand by your old thermostat and constantly adjust it throughout the day manually, or invest in a wifi thermostat. After all, June is National Homeownership Month! You should celebrate by investing in a thermostat that will make your home more efficient for the years to come. 

The average household spends more than $2,000 a year on energy costs, up to half of which is for heating and cooling, according to Energy Star.  With a programmable thermostat, it does the work for you. You can save around $180 each year, maybe more in extreme climates and as energy costs go up. 

Wifi thermostats automatically do all the temperature monitoring and adjusting for you by following the instructions you program into them.  In the process, they save you energy and money.

Which Wifi Thermostat is Best for Me?

In general, every wifi thermostat comes with four pre-programmed settings and maintains those settings within two degrees. Many qualified models also come with additional features, such as:

• Digital, back lit displays
• Touch pad screen programming
• Voice and/or phone programming
• Hold/Vacation features
• Indicators which tell you when it’s time to change air filters
• Indicators that signal malfunctioning of heating/cooling systems
• Adaptive Recovery/ Smart Recovery features — control features that senses the amount of time it will take to reach the next set-point temperature, and reach desired temperatures by the set time

Ask a professional if the new unit is compatible with your current unit’s wiring. Be sure that it is precise enough for your needs and don’t choose a thermostat that is too complicated.

How Do You Choose the Right One for You?

To decide which model is best for you, think about your schedule and how often you are away from home for regular periods of time — work, school, or other activities — and then decide which of the three different models best fits your schedule: the 7-day, 5+2-day, or the 5-1-1-day.

7 day models are best if your daily schedule tends to change, say, if children are at home earlier on some days. They give you the most flexibility, and let you set different programs for different days — usually with four possible temperature periods per day.

5+2 day models use the same schedule every weekday, and another for weekends.

5-1-1 models are best if you tend to keep one schedule Monday through Friday and another schedule on Saturdays and Sundays.

Consider whether you or a family member is always at home, you may not need a wifi thermostat.  Programmable thermostats are best for the family that needs more flexibility because of hectic schedules.

Best Selling Wifi Thermostats

There are numerous thermostats to choose from with a wide range of prices.  Here is a current list of the top selling programmable thermostats on the market.