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For decades, thermostats were pretty simple: put the needle on the temperature you wanted, and the heating and air conditioning system would do its best to keep the house at that temperature. Computerized thermostats came along later, allowing you to alter the temperature throughout the day so that the HVAC wasn’t working so hard when people weren’t at home. About a decade ago, learning thermostats such as the Nest came along, making the programming of heating and air conditioning units easier than ever.
There’s a new type of thermostat that goes beyond even the Nest, though, and that’s a wi-fi programmable thermostat. Thermostats of the past have been either a) too simple while not allowing enough customization, or b) so complex that people just give up on them. Today, wi-fi thermostats can be simple, easy-to-use, and even fun once you get them set up. If you’re due for air conditioning installation this summer, or have us by for air conditioning repair service, you might want to consider having a wi-fi thermostat installed. Here’s why.

Working With A Screen Is Just Easier

Let’s start off with the aspect that intimidates some people and thrills others. With a wi-fi thermostat, you’ll be able to program your heating and cooling system from an app on a phone, tablet, or laptop. While getting it set up intimidates some people at first, once the initial optimizations are done the whole process becomes very easy.
How easy? If you’ve ever worked with a typical programmable thermostat before, you know just how complex it can be to make temporary changes. Sure, it might be easy to press the “up” button and raise the temperature on a particularly cold night, but changing things for a week while you’re on vacation almost always requires the use of the 80-page instruction book. Those thermostats simply aren’t very intuitive.
With a wi-fi thermostat and app, changes to your heating and air conditioning are simply much easier because of an easier-to-use user interface. Because the app is showing more information on a bigger screen, the interface is simply more intuitive.

Wi-Fi Thermostats Save You Money

Because of the complexity of computerized thermostats — those boxes on the wall with a bunch of keys that can be difficult to figure out — many people never get around to programming them correctly. So when everyone is away at school and work, the temperature remains low during air conditioner season even though there’s no one around to enjoy it. And if they head off on vacation in winter, they’re heating a house that doesn’t need it…ll because the thermostat was too complex to figure out.
Because setting up a wi-fi thermostat is so easy, you’ll be able to program your heating and air conditioning to come on at the best possible time. That saves energy, which in turn saves money.

Feel More Comfortable Without the Constant Changes

There’s a good reason that the phrase “set it and forget it” is so popular when it comes to electronics. While some tech-savvy people like to tweak everything from computers to power tools, most of us don’t want to be bothered with constant adjustments.
While you can keep changing the settings on your thermostat, most people are more than happy to set it and forget it (barring changes in schedules and vacation times, of course). With a wi-fi thermostat, getting out from under the covers during a Netflix binge isn’t necessary just to raise the temperature a few degrees…because the temp will already be where you want it at that particular time of night.

Change Things From Anywhere

This is, perhaps, the most fun (and coolest) part of working with an app that’s controlling your wi-fi thermostat. No matter where you are in the house, or even away from home, you can change the temperature of your home.
At first you might wonder, “what’s the point?” Well, there are some situations in which it just makes sense. Are you driving home from a hard workout at the gym and want to come home to a cool-than-usual house? Turn down the temperature with your phone app. Is the house getting warm because you have an extra 20 people there for a party? Lower the temperature while you’re out on the patio grilling. And if you’re delayed at the airport overnight when returning from vacation, you can extend the temperature adjustments and save some more energy. Remote changes to your heating and air conditioning can also be great when you’re rushing out the door on vacation; if you forget to adjust the thermostat, just do it from the road!

Knowledge Is Power

Using the wi-fi app is fun, but it can also provide very useful information. If the app tells you that your AC is turning on and off too often, it could be time to call an air conditioner repair service. Alerts can be set up so that you’ll get a text or an email if the temperature reaches a certain threshold, which probably means that it’s time for HVAC repair. (Knowing this could also save a pet’s life if the AC goes out on the hottest day of the year.)

Is A Wi-Fi Thermostat For You?

As you can see, there are many advantages that come with a wi-fi thermostat. While they might seem a bit daunting at first, anyone can learn to use them. In fact, they’re much more intuitive than any of the computerized thermostats you might have encountered over the past few decades, so if you can use a tablet or a smartphone you’re certain to be able to figure out the best setting for your heating and cooling system.
Some people give us a call to switch out their current thermostat with one that’s considerably more high-tech, while others simply wait until they require some other service — an AC tune-up or air conditioning installation — so that we can handle everything at once. Either way, smart appliances are the wave of the future, and we bet you’ll enjoy the advantages you’ll get when working with a wi-fi thermostat. Contact JC & JC HVAC Mechanical Contractors for whatever heating and cooling needs you have!