As Cooling Costs Go Up, These Smart Thermostats Basically Pay for Themselves in Energy Savings (2023)

FAQs

Do smart thermostats actually save money? ›

Installing a quality smart thermostat can take your energy savings to a new level. In fact, smart thermostats like the ecobee smart thermostat can reduce energy bills by up to 23%. That can translate to hundreds of dollars in savings every year. Smart thermostats are a win-win for homeowners.

The main way smart thermostats save electricity is by reducing your heating and cooling automatically when it's not needed. The device determines the need by predicting when people are home and away.

How much will the average ENERGY STAR smart thermostat save? On average, savings are approximately 8% of heating and cooling bills or $50 per year. Savings may be greater depending on climate, personal comfort preferences, occupancy, and/or heating/cooling (HVAC) equipment.

According to data from two independent studies of actual Nest customers, smart thermostats can, on average, save customers between 10-12 percent on heating and 15 percent on cooling. Based on typical energy costs, Nest estimates that the average customer can expect to save roughly $140 per year on energy bills.

Your furnace will run less often, and therefore cost you less money, when you set your thermostat at a lower temperature. Why? Because your home's rate of heat loss decreases at lower temperatures. (Here's a simple explanation of the rate of heat transfer.)

Raising your thermostat by just one degree in the summer will decrease your electric bill by 2 percent, according to the Edison Institute. The Energy Department suggests setting the thermostat as high as comfortable when you are home — aim for 78 degrees — and several degrees higher when you're away.

Smart home devices like thermostats and appliances are highly efficient because they can automatically adjust to changing energy needs. Plus, they can detect inefficiencies so electricity, water and gas waste can be minimized. Your energy consumption can be reduced exponentially when smart devices run your home.

Yes, smart home devices can save resources. No, not all of them will. Some, such as always-on smart speakers and connected cameras actually use more, because they're not replacing an energy load, they're adding one (although not a significant one).

What should I leave my thermostat on to save money? ›

Energy.gov suggests that 68 degrees is a good room temperature while you're awake at home but recommends lowering it while you're asleep or away. Lowering your thermostat 7-10 degrees for eight hours a day can reduce your annual heating expenses by as much as 10 percent.

We've estimated average savings of $131 to $145 a year, which means the Nest thermostat can pay for itself in under two years.

Anyone who's opened an eye-popping energy bill in the middle of winter or one for air conditioning in the summer has probably wondered which system costs more to operate. According to analyses, it's no comparison: heating your home requires four times more energy in the US than cooling your home.

Heating a home tends to cost more than twice as much as cooling a home.

When power is lost to the thermostat, the only information it "loses" is the current time. Once power is restored, the thermostat will resume its previous settings and configuration. It will also automatically reconnect to the Wi-Fi network. Once reconnected, all features are accessible again.

Smart homes are energy-efficient, customisable, and convenient; however, they have downsides like high cost and internet dependence.

Keeping your home at a constant temperature generally means that your HVAC system will run constantly to meet it. This means that your furnace or air conditioner may run when you're asleep, at work, or out of the house. This wastes more energy than the minimal amount that you might save by having it constantly run.

While some homeowners have considered turning off their heat at night in an attempt to lower their heating bills, it generally is not recommended as a viable option. The fact is, turning your heat off at night creates more potential risk for your home and your family than it does savings on your energy bill.

In fact, leaving your heat on all day can actually cost you much more than turning it off every now and then. Heat tends to diffuse, so the high heat in your home will diffuse to areas of low heat outside the home during the winter. So even when you have your furnace on, your home is always losing a little bit of heat.

What is the cheapest way to save energy? ›

MD Proelectra is India's Most Trustable Power Saving Device. This device saves your Electricity bill up to 45%. It doesn't consume power itself and will not increase the additional cost even if it used day and night.

The short answer to that question is, “Yes, they do.” However, it's important to understand the context. Smart lights are “vampire devices”, which means they use electricity even when they're turned off or in standby mode.

During colder weather, try keeping your thermostat at 68 degrees while people are home and awake but turning it down by up to 10 degrees while everyone is sleeping or away. In warm seasons, shoot for 78 degrees and push it up to 85 degrees when no one is home.

Every season has an ideal thermostat temperature and for summer the U.S. Department of Energy suggests that when home, 78 degrees is the sweet spot between staying cool and keeping your energy bill low. Give your air conditioner and energy bill a break by setting your thermostat to 88 degrees when away.

To stay comfortable and save money this summer, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting your thermostat to 78F (26C) when you are home. Setting your air conditioner to this level will allow you to stay cool and avoid an unusually high electricity bill.

What is the best energy saver device? ›

Light Emitting Diodes (LED)

Like incandescent bulbs, they are generally unaffected by the number of times you turn them on or off.

Set your thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter

According to ENERGY STAR, setting your thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) when you're home is the ideal balance of comfort and energy efficiency.

Thermostat Operation

You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home.

People commonly suggest closing doors in unused rooms to make a room warmer, but this can harm your HVAC unit. Optimal airflow circulates throughout the entire home evenly, and closed doors act as a barrier. When you close off an entrance, much like blocking a vent, your system cannot do its job properly.

The Nest Learning Thermostat is the first thermostat to get ENERGY STAR certified. It learns what temperature you like and builds a schedule around yours. And independent studies showed that it saved people an average of 10% to 12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. So in under two years, it can pay for itself.

On-Going Seasonal Savings

With the instant rebate and the time-of-use enrollment, most smart thermostats on the market are greatly reduced in price or outright free. With the combined savings, you could get the basic Google Nest or Amazon Smart Thermostat for free.

The answer to the question “is it cheaper to leave your air conditioner on all day?” is a resounding yes. You'll save money on your energy and repair bills, especially during the summer months.

Heating a home is more energy-intensive than cooling because of how the home is heated and cooled. Cooling a home involves moving the excess heat out so that it's cooler inside. But heating requires heat energy to warm the air.

Is it cheaper to run an electric heater or air conditioner? ›

Even in many energy efficient homes, or homes that keep up on their ac repairs, wintertime heating costs can sometimes run nearly twice what AC costs to run. In fact, if you live in an older homes, the costs are much higher; heating your house can be almost four times as high!

Geothermal systems provide the most efficient type of heating. They can cut heating bills by up to 70 percent. Like other types of heat pumps, they are also very safe and environmentally friendly to operate.

Increasing the temperature of something makes these molecules and atoms move around more quickly, giving it more thermal energy. Hot water has more thermal energy than cold water.

But one of the best ways to help save energy, money, and the environment during the colder months is to dial down the temperature of your home by two degrees. Here's a basic rule of thumb: Turn the thermostat to 68 degrees while you're at home, and drop that setting even lower when you leave for the day.

Programmable thermostats, or smart thermostats, were designed to help save on energy by automatically cutting back on energy consumption via heating and cooling when they are the least likely to be in use.

The advantage of a smart thermostat is its ability to learn a household's patterns and adjust heating and cooling according to when a home is occupied or is about to be occupied. This reduces the use of heating and cooling systems when nobody is home for significant periods of time.

The most apparent benefit of smart thermostats is they help save energy. They allow precise temperature control like regular programmable thermostats but also learn about your daily habits to fine-tune performance, allowing them to use less energy for heating and cooling.

According to ENERGYSTAR.gov, the ideal home temperature should be between 70 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. To maximize energy efficiency, turning your thermostat up or down by 8 degrees while you're away from your home can help reduce your heating and cooling costs.

According to ENERGY STAR, setting your thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) when you're home is the ideal balance of comfort and energy efficiency.

What is the most energy efficient way to set your thermostat? ›

Thermostat Operation

The smaller the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall cooling bill will be. You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “you can save as much as 10 percent per year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back seven to 10° for eight hours a day from its normal setting.” The savings is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates.

A smart thermostat can work without Wi-Fi because they do not entirely depend on the internet to function properly. However, the functionality will be limited to controlling the home temperature settings and monitoring your energy usage.

You can choose from many types of smart thermostats, and each one works differently. Some thermostats charge a monthly subscription fee if you want to use the remote control features to adjust the settings via your smartphone. Other options connect to apps that don't charge a monthly fee.

With typical use, the smart thermostat will last well over one year when running on battery power alone. The battery can be expected to last even longer if the smart thermostat is powered through the C-wire (common wire). In this case, the batteries will only be used when the power is out.

Smart thermostats reveal that the amount of fossil fuel consumed can be more than is actually needed—helping users identify wasted energy. Such revelations lead to changes in behavior helping to reduce costs, reduce energy consumption, and reduce the demand for fossil fuels that harm people and the planet.

Do smart thermostats work with all homes? Strictly speaking, smart thermostats don't work with all homes, but they do work with the vast majority. You typically need a central HVAC system in order to be able to install a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats also require Wi-Fi and a smartphone for full control.