The HVAC world has seen numerous innovative technologies in the last several years. As a homeowner, you likely want to stay up-to-date on these technologies to optimize your comfort and energy savings throughout the year. One technology you don’t want to sleep on when purchasing your next thermostat is geofencing. It sounds complex, but once you get the hang of it, it’s surprisingly simple and intuitive. Here’s what you need to know.
What Are Geofencing Thermostats?
Geofencing thermostats are a specialized type of smart thermostat that uses your phone’s physical location to adjust your home’s thermostat based on your preferences and use patterns. Think about this technology as having a virtual fence around your home. When your smartphone leaves this virtual space, such as when you go to work or the grocery store, your thermostat automatically switches to away mode. When it’s in away mode, it will run less frequently, which helps save you money on your energy bills.
When your smartphone’s GPS shows that you’re approaching the fenced area around your home, the app will automatically signal your smart thermostat to readjust the temperature to a more comfortable setting. This will ensure your home is nice and comfortable when you arrive home. This effortless technology is changing the way homeowners interact with their HVAC systems.
The Many Benefits of Geofencing Thermostats
Before you spend your hard-earned money on any devices for your home, you will want to understand the benefits they can provide. Here, we’ll cover some of the biggest advantages of installing a geofencing smart thermostat in your household.
Automatic Energy Savings
Probably the most notable benefit of using a smart thermostat with geofencing technology is that it provides automatic energy savings. By setting up your smartphone to communicate with your thermostat, you can limit its runtime, thereby reducing the energy costs associated with your home heating and cooling systems. This translates to less wear and tear on your HVAC equipment, which can result in fewer breakdowns and a longer operational lifespan.
Enhanced Household Comfort
No one likes returning to an uncomfortably warm or cool home environment. Geofencing technology ensures that you never have to set foot in a home that’s too hot or cold again. Your thermostat will work with your HVAC system to effectively pre-heat or pre-cool your home, ensuring it’s at your desired temperature when you arrive every time.
Easy for Inconsistent Schedules
One of the most frustrating parts of a traditional programmable or basic smart thermostat is that they are often inefficient for those with inconsistent schedules. You would essentially have to change your settings consistently or remember to adjust your thermostat from your smartphone before leaving and when arriving home.
This is so inconvenient that most homeowners won’t take the time to try to maximize their energy savings with these other technologies. Geofencing opens the door for convenient and consistent energy savings by providing effortless thermostat adjustments. There’s no need for intervention with these hands-free geofencing thermostats.
Must-Have Features for Your Next Geofencing Thermostat
The thought of reaping all the benefits that a geofencing thermostat can provide may have you rushing to get your very own. However, just like any new household device, different options offer various features. Below, we’ll explore some of the best features to ensure your new geofencing smart thermostat provides optimal functionality and convenience for you and your family.
Multi-User Support
Some geofencing thermostats only integrate with a single phone. That’s great if you’re the only household resident. However, it can be a pain if you’re not. Getting a geofencing thermostat with built-in multi-user support allows all your home’s smartphones to seamlessly integrate with your thermostat. This ensures your home is comfortable when everyone arrives, not just when one of you does.
Smart Home Integration
Many smart home systems are available on the market today, including Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa. It’s vital to ensure that whatever smart geofencing thermostat you purchase is compatible with your specific smart home system. Not all thermostats effortlessly integrate with every type of smart home system.
Customizable Radius Settings
Depending on the brand of smart thermostat you purchase, you can alter the radius settings from anywhere between 500 feet and several miles away. This allows you to customize when your thermostat will switch between home and away modes. For example, let’s say that you set your thermostat’s geofencing radius setting to one mile.
Whenever you leave your home and your phone crosses over the one-mile boundary mark from your home, your thermostat will automatically switch to away mode. This allows for seamless transitions between leaving and arriving home without manually altering your smart thermostat’s settings.
Real-Time Energy Consumption Reports
Another cool feature to consider getting when purchasing a geofencing thermostat for your home is real-time energy consumption reporting. This allows you to actively see how your thermostat’s settings and habits directly affect your energy usage and bills.
For example, you can see the energy difference and potential savings you can gain when turning up the temperature by one degree during the summer months. By actively monitoring your habits and how they directly affect your system’s energy usage, you can make better decisions regarding your thermostat’s settings.
Learning Technology
One must-have feature for any great geofencing smart thermostat is learning technology. Homeowners commonly alter the settings on their thermostats as the temperature and their schedules change. Instead of manually switching settings or worrying about reprogramming in new settings, a smart thermostat with learning technology will take care of it for you.
Anytime you create new habits by altering your settings multiple times in a row, your thermostat will take note and make the changes permanent. This helps to create better adaptation to enhance your comfort while minimizing your energy usage.
Average Usable Lifespan and Maintenance Requirements
Most geofencing smart thermostats have a usable lifespan of between 10 and 15 years. One thing to note about these smart thermostats is that their technology can become outdated more quickly, or they may no longer have ongoing support for discontinued manufacturers. Choose your brand wisely.
Geofencing thermostats are considered to be low-maintenance for most homeowners. Some models may get power directly from your electrical panel box, while others may have internal batteries that require regular replacement. We highly recommend replacing your thermostat’s batteries every six months for the best results.
Because geofencing thermostats have integrated smart technology, they do require regular updating. This software update addresses both the firmware and the app itself. Many units will come with automatic updating. However, others may not. If your thermostat doesn’t update automatically, check for software updates monthly. If you experience a Wi-Fi outage in your home, you may need to restart your smart thermostat for it to reconnect to your local network.
Expert Thermostat Installation Service
Woodward Heating Air Plumbing offers expert thermostat installation services for the Salem, OR community. We can assist with all your HVAC installation, replacement, repair, and maintenance needs. Call our office today to schedule your next service appointment with one of our helpful technicians.
