Until recently, my home was getting by with an old dial thermostat control.
It was already installed when the two of us moved into the home 10 years ago.
Although the two of us substituted both the central cooling system and oil furnace, it never occurred to me to replace the temperature control. Because the component served its function, I didn’t give it a thought. Over the years, I’ve made lots of changes to the home. I’ve focused on improving both comfort and energy efficiency. I’ve invested into Energy Star rated, thermal pane, low E windows and carefully caulked around them. I’ve changed the front and back door and added weatherstripping. Along with increasing insulation in the attic, walls and ceilings, I’ve installed ceiling fans to help out the cooling system in the summertime and the oil furnace in winter. I’m conscientious about scheduling service and replacing air filters in the heating and cooling systems. The last time the Heating and Air Conditioning business ran tests on the oil furnace, he mentioned the benefits of smart temperature controls. Our up-to-date temperature control was a plastic dial that required manual adjustment. When I started searching into the new models of smart temperature controls, I was amazed by the number of options. Thermostats now come in strange shapes and sizes and include touchscreen displays. It’s possible to upload number one photos to customize the displays. They can be programmed to light up as someone approaches, answer to voice commands and deliver the indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity levels. There are temperature controls that can honestly learn a seven-day schedule and others that feature geofencing or occupancy sensors. Having access to all of the settings, alerts and features through an app on my phone is quite handy.