Is a Smart Thermostat Worth It?

For many people, summer represents vacation, relaxation, and fun in the sun. Depending on where you live, summer can also mean the onslaught of scorching weather with a side of sweltering humidity. However, seasonal heat doesn’t have to impact your electric bill: Smart thermostats are an innovative and flexible way to keep your home – and your wallet – cool and conditioned. Take a look at how a programmable smart thermostat can ensure your home stays comfortable while annually saving you around 10% on energy costs:

Monitoring Services

If the whole family is home for summer break, chances are there will be multiple hands touching the thermostat. With a smart thermostat, you can set a range on your account and receive alerts when the temperature exceeds or dips below the limits you’ve established. You can also program your system to send notifications when someone manually changes the thermostat. Not only do these services ensure you don’t arrive home to an arctic tundra, it also means you can fine-tune the temperature of your home remotely, such as from the office or while on vacation. Plus, when used in conjunction with a whole-home humidifier or de-humidifier, smart thermostats can monitor and adjust humidity accordingly by triggering the device to turn on or off.

Energy Saving

In addition to monitoring your home’s temperature, smart thermostats can be programmed to only run fans when cooling isn’t necessary. This way, you aren’t wasting money on air conditioning that’s not being used if you’re at work all day, or while you’re on that business trip. If you’ve enabled Geo-Services, the temperature can be automatically adjusted depending on your smartphone’s location. This means your smart thermostat can start cranking the air conditioner when it senses your car pulling into the garage, or turn off the air when it senses you leaving for the day, saving you energy and money.

Automated Convenience

Setting up rules, scenes, and schedules is a great way to ensure you’re getting the most out of your smart thermostat. One way to automate your thermostat is by selecting a sleep scene, which places your alarm in “stay” mode, locks your doors, turns off your lights, and adjusts your thermostat to the temperature you’ve programmed for nighttime. You can also create smart schedules to control the temperature based on the time and day of the week, keeping your home comfortable and compatible with your lifestyle. Plus, smart thermostats are designed to subtly blend in, and are completely customizable via your Brinks Home™ mobile phone app or your customer portal.

Lauren Slade is a Dallas-based writer and editor.