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Ventilation is important to all homeowners who are also often concerned about energy consumption in relation to their effect on their utility costs.
Traditional thermostats generally tend to use up a considerable amount of energy, when homeowners are away from home.
This is undesirable to homeowners who have since set out in search for better alternatives which help to conserve energy while still functioning optimally.
Here is a roundup of the top rated thermostats currently available in the market for homeowners.
Top 5 The Best Thermostat for Home Reviews
1. Nest Learning Thermostat – 1st Generation T100577
Our Rating: (4.3 / 5)
This is one of the state of the art user friendly thermostats currently available in the market.
What makes it stand out is its easy installation, auto schedule feature which programs itself to note the user’s preferred temperatures and remote control capability.
This device is also designed to help homeowners monitor energy consumption and thus, maintain a control over their overall utility costs.
2. Honeywell RTH7600D Touchscreen 7-Day Programmable Thermostat
Our Rating: (4.1 / 5)
This thermostat is also user friendly, convenient and easy to use.
It comes with a 7-day programmable capability, extra-large touch screen interface as well as cooling, heat-pump and heating comparability.
The device is designed to help homeowners reduce their annual cooling and heating costs by as much as 33%.
3. Nest Learning Thermostat – 2nd Generation T200577
Our Rating: (4.2 / 5)
An upgrade of Nest’s 1st Generation thermostat, this device is designed to offer enhanced ventilation control and offer increased comparability.
The device is 20% thinner than its predecessor and compatible with 95% of homes.
Energy saving is enhanced by the device’s Auto-Away feature which sees the unit turn itself off when the homeowner is away.
4. Ecobee EB-SMARTSi-01 Smart Thermostat 2 Heat-2 Cool with Full Color NON-Touch Screen
Our Rating: (4.3 / 5)
With an intuitive user friendly interface, this thermostat also comes highly rated as an ideal choice for home owners.
The device features an in-built Wi-Fi enabled feature allowing remote access, in-built live weather feature and has a mobile app which allows users to access it on the go through their smartphones.
5. Honeywell TH8110U1003 Vision Pro 8000 Digital Thermostat
Our Rating: (4.3 / 5)
This is another highly rated thermostat ideal for homeowners because of its ease of use and high efficiency.
It comes with a 7-day programming function which means that each day can be pre-programmed to an entirely different temperature.
The digital display enables the user to easily access the programming menu and it is backlit which also enables use in differing light conditions.
Best Thermostat for Home Buyers Guide
Guide to buying the best Thermostat for your home
With the variety of thermostats in the market, buyers would need a reliable guide on buying thermostats to help them choose the best ones for their needs.
Buyers will find as many products from the basic manual units to the programmable ones.
Before they select any of these products, they need to consider the following factors as a guide in making the best decision.
Type of Thermostats
Buyers will find two types of thermostats to choose from: Manual and programmable thermostats. Both of them are available for a variety of furnaces, whether gas, electric or oil, and air conditioning.
Older homes have the manual thermostats. These are not only economical but also simple to control.
While they offer limited energy savings, they will operate efficiently if buyers are careful in changing the temperature settings. The only problem is that they contain mercury.
Programmable thermostats, on the other hand, do not require the homeowner to continuously make changes to the settings.
It will automatically adjust the temperatures throughout the day thus saving the buyers a higher percentage on energy costs.
Some of the units have the ability to switch between air conditioning and heating depending with the weather conditions. Aside from that, most of them come with a digital interface that is easy to operate.
Heating and Cooling System
Before choosing any thermostat, it is important for buyers to know what type of heating and cooling system they have.
Some of the products may not be compatible with the users system; therefore they need to check on the product packaging to make the selection process easier.
Some of the options available include:
- Stage 1 heat or Cool- this is suitable for those with separate air conditioning and heating units.
- Stage 2 or multiple-stage heat or cool- Suitable for units with high and low speed.
- Direct Line Voltage-used with thermostats that can be powered with 110 or 240 direct current power source.
- 24mV- suitable for usage with wall or floor furnace or fireplace.
- Zoned HVAC – used for system with individually controlled heating and cooling.
Lifestyle
In choosing a thermostat, it is important that buyers consider their lifestyles.
It is recommended that they choose a thermostat that will allow them to make the as many changes as they can depending with the prevailing circumstances.
This has been made possible by the presence of programmable thermostats that come with pre-set temperatures.
Buyers need also to determine features such as controls, display panels, battery operations and back up as well as vacation mode among others.
Advantages of programmable thermostats
The popularity of programmable thermostats has been due to the energy saving benefits it offers homeowners.
The manufacturers of these thermostats have ensured that they provide some of the best products with a variety of features to provide convenience and reliability to the homeowners.
Some of the benefits that homeowners have enjoyed with these products include:
Convenience
The programmable thermostats offer users personal comfort due to the presence of the pre-set temperature levels.
The users are able to adjust the temperature of their homes depending with their needs.
Most of these devices can be controlled whether the homeowners are at home or not, whether they are asleep or awake, and depending on weather.
To add to the convenience, these thermostats can automatically repeat and store the settings every day.
The homeowners also have the chance to override these settings depending with their circumstances, allowing them more control over their heating and cooling costs.
Depending with the type of thermostat selected, some of the homeowners can set up vacation settings and also lock the system so that the settings cannot be tampered with.
Some manufacturers have also designed thermostats that can be connected to and controlled via Wi-Fi, making it easier for the users to remotely control the temperatures of their homes regardless of their location.
Cost
These programmable thermostats cost between $30 and $250 depending with their features, with those made for heat pumps costing higher than the rest.
This initial cost can be easily offset because of the money the homeowners will save within a year or two of using the thermostats.
Homeowners will also receive rebates and incentives from government agencies and utility companies for getting these thermostats due to their energy saving benefits.
Lower Utility bills
Once the programmable thermostat has been installed, the heating and cooling system will not only operate less frequently but also use less energy, translating to lower utility costs.
The homeowners have the chance of saving up to 12% of their annual heating and cooling costs.
Some units take an extra step in saving energy by keeping track of the duration of the HVAC system over a certain period.
They automatically anticipate the best times for the users to lower their cooling or heating.
Eco Friendly
These programmable thermostats do not contain mercury, and this goes a long way to protect the environment.
Aside from that, they use less energy thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Why You Should Consider Getting a wifi Thermostat
Ever entered a hot stuffy room or extremely chilly room and felt like you had no control over it; well the scores of wifi thermostats available in the market provides the right solution to your ventilation problems.
You obviously can’t control other people’s thermostats, and most people wouldn’t be so welcoming to letting you fiddle with their thermostat, but you have all the right to take matters into your own hands and control your own home’s ventilation.
Wifi thermostats work in a similar way to normal thermostats, with the exception that they come with the ability to accept remote access.
Remote access is possible via computers through a designated web page or via a mobile phone app. These thermostats seem to have become a fad not only for their advanced functionality but also because of their ‘cool factor.’
However, there are several notable advantages of having a wifi enabled thermostat in your home as opposed to the traditional units.
For one, think about how many times you have left the house in a hurry only to remember that you forgot to switch off the thermostat.
This does not seem like a concern to some people, but to the energy conscious home owner it does pose quite a problem.
Through remote access ability, you can switch off your wifi thermostat and perform other functions.
Another feat that these devices boast of is the ability to monitor several aspects, also remotely.
Most homeowners would like to know just how much energy they are consuming, so that they can know how much they expect to pay in utility bills or find a way to minimize on their energy consumption.
These wifi enabled devices allow users to monitor several of these functions, again remotely.
Most of these units are designed to power off when the home owner is away, therefore contributing towards energy efficiency.
However, like every internet enabled device there is always the concern about how safe they are.
There have been concerns by homeowners about the possibility of hacks and having their energy costs tampered with.
Other homeowners have also raised concerns over the possibility of having their houses spied on via their wifi enabled thermostats.
There really haven’t been any documented cases of these scenarios actually taking place; therefore, it is safe to assume that these devices are completely safe to use.
If anything, they help homeowners to maintain a sense of security over their energy consumption and ventilation needs.