Summertime heat can bring sky-high electric bills, which may have you searching for new savings opportunities. Solutions can range from the low-cost option of increasing the temperature by a few degrees to the high-cost solution of installing an entirely new cooling system. A middle-of-the-road option that may be worth exploring? Upgrading to a smart thermostat.
These devices make it easy to set your system on your schedule, so you are not running it unnecessarily when you are at the office or away on vacation. Some are even more advanced, automatically detecting your absence and switching over to a more energy-friendly mode. While these shifts can cut down on usage and increase efficiency, calculating the actual electric bill savings you will see is not necessarily clear-cut.
How can a smart thermostat save you money?
The potentially cost-saving feature most smart thermostats offer is an app that you can use to easily set a schedule for the heating and cooling of your home. “Technically, you can do this with any thermostat, but smart thermostats make it especially easy with their eco modes and suggestions, which means the average user typically starts saving more money when they adopt a smart thermostat,” said CNET. The app can also display your energy usage habits, which can help you course correct going forward.
Some more advanced smart thermostats take things a step further. They figure out when “nobody is home, most commonly with motion or occupancy sensors, or by checking the location of your phone,” and then they switch over to an “energy-saving model” if no one is around, said Consumer Reports.
What is the average savings a smart thermostat offers?
Compared to the savings some smart thermostat manufacturers claim, “independent research tends to paint a more conservative picture,” said CBS News. Many studies show “average savings closer to 10% to 15%.”
The savings rate you actually see will depend on a variety of factors. In general, the “largest savings are often seen by homeowners who previously left their thermostat at the same temperature around the clock,” said CBS News. If you were already scheduling your thermostat, you may not see as big a difference. Same goes for if you are home most of the time, or if you live somewhere with more moderate temperatures.
When can installing a smart thermostat make sense?
Whether a smart thermostat “makes financial sense for your budget depends largely on your current habits, your HVAC system and how long you expect to stay in your home,” said CBS News. Consider how much you are currently adjusting your home’s temperature based on your occupancy and how often you are there; switching modes during absences is the main way smart thermostats offer savings.
Some HVAC systems, such as “an older HVAC system without a C-wire” and “electric baseboard radiators,” tend not to work with smart thermostats, said Consumer Reports. Systems like “modern variable-speed air conditioners, and especially heat pumps,” may become less efficient with a smart thermostat, since they are “designed to work better and more efficiently when they run constantly at a fixed temperature.”
Lastly, it is important to account for the cost of the thermostat itself, which runs from “around $100 for the cheapest models to more than $350 for top models with all the bells and whistles,” said CNET. You will also need to pay for installation. Still, with the average savings most smart thermostats offer, you can expect to offset those costs “within a year or two.”