Everyone wants to feel as comfortable as possible at home. Heating and cooling by operating the home thermostats is one of the things we do to feel cozy in the winter and cooled in the summer. The thermostat is a great device that controls heating and air-conditioning systems in your house. The two appliances use the most energy and impact our comfort and quality of life.
Thermostats let you adjust the temperature of your heating system to get the desired comfort. You need to decide whether you want a standard or a controlled wi-fi system for your home. You can choose between manually maintaining the thermostat with a non-programmable option or setting the thermostat and doing something else with a programmable device.
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What are digital thermostats? How do they work?
Most thermostats today are digital and they come with more features than the traditional mechanical thermostats. Digital thermostats come with very sensitive electronic sensors that read the temperature of a space and control the heating to maintain it within 1 degree of the selected setting. Some digital thermostats are wireless and battery-operated.
Digital thermostats feature a simple device (thermistor) to measure temperature, which is a resistor allowing electrical resistance modifications with temperature. The thermistor has metals inside that modify when the ambient temperature also changes. The microcontroller in the digital thermostat will measure the resistance and turn the number into an actual temperature reading.
The digital thermostat can do more things than regular mechanical thermostats. One of the most impressive digital thermostat features is the programmable settings.
The programmable thermostat
According to your schedule, a programmable thermostat will run the heating at specific times of the day. For instance, you can set the thermostat to automatically run the heating for a couple of hours in the morning while you get ready to start your day. The thermostat will turn down the heat until you get home and turn it up again when you come back home. The thermostat will turn down the heat again at night for a nice restful sleep.
Programmable thermostats save money because they turn down the heat when you don’t actually need it.
Another great feature of the programmable thermostat is system zoning, which helps you heat the rooms you need and cool the ones you don’t use. A system zoning includes several thermostats wired to the control panel, which runs dampers within the ductwork of the forced-air system. Depending on the thermostat’s settings, the thermostats will read the temperature of their designated areas and open or close the dampers within the ductwork. System zoning is ideal for a house with fluctuating room temperatures and heating or cooling individual bedrooms according to the preferred temperature setting.
The manual thermostat
Unlike the programmable thermostat, the manual thermostat cannot work automatically. It doesn’t come with settings that allow scheduling. A programmable thermostat will constantly automatically adjust the temperature to the desired settings after you program it.
How do smart thermostats work?
Most smart thermostats will use wi-fi to connect with an app on your smartphone. You will use the app to schedule the heating and cooling of your house, adjust your home’s temperature, and even organize automation with other smart devices.
Some programmable thermostats don’t connect with an app, but you can still plan heating and cooling routines with a touchscreen display. Similar to classic thermostats, smart thermostats are hardwired. You still need a wi-fi connection to make them work from a distance. When the wi-fi isn’t available, you will be able to use the smart thermostat manually.
The smart thermostat consists of 3 main components, with one of them being directly plugged into the HVAC system. The component communicates with the second element—the thermostat control. The third and last component that turns a regular thermostat into a “smart” one is the smart thermostat app. You can download it to the smartphone, computer, or mobile device. Combining the three elements lets you control the home temperatures away from home, from your couch—as long as you have an internet or wireless connection. The three essential components make the smart thermostat run, while high-end models will come with many more performances. Some smart thermostats are “learning” models, so they no longer need programming. Smartphone tracking, adjusting temperatures as you get closer to home, or additional sensors are some of the many performances present with smart thermostats.