WiFi Thermostats

Smart everything is the world we now live in. Within the last five years there has been a surge in smart products for our homes. From Amazon’s Alexa, to smart-kettles and smart-tv’s it seems that robots really are taking over our lives. The smart range of products all work by connecting themselves to our wifi and allowing them to be more advanced and technologically whizzy, than their non-smart brothers and sisters. They come with a hefty price tag attached and also split opinions amongst experts as how useful or great they really are. It is this smart family, that wifi thermostats sit firmly in.

Traditionally thermostats act as the first point of access for your heating or cooling or ventilation system. If you adjust it then you can change the temperature of the air around you. For cold homes, this means setting the radiators to come on and for sunny homes, it means adjusting the level of cool air you feel. Before smart thermostats, the most advanced thermostats ever got was simply being programmable. You could pre-set them to come on or be at a certain temperature at certain times. Now with wifi thermostats, you can really go a whole step further. The main upgrade is that because wifi thermostats can be connected to your wifi that means you can use your smartphone or laptop to change the temperature. And yes, that means you can change the temperature in your home remotely! So, if you’re out for a long drive and the weather gets cold, you can get the thermostat to come on whilst you’re still 15 miles away, or you can sneakily turn the heat down when you’re out of the house, surprising your unsuspecting family! Some of the most advanced wifi thermostats on the market can actually take control themselves, but learning your routine and anticipating the temperature you need, or by tracking you on GPS and turning themselves on when you are near home.

One of the great things about being able to adjust your thermostat remotely is that you can easily see how much energy you are using and make savings. Instead of programming in advance, you can more accurately set it to turn on when you really need it, which will hopefully reduce your energy consumption and energy bill. This is great as wifi thermostats allow you to see your usage, monitor it and really clearly see your heating and cooling routine. As with the new internet of things and smart devices, many have concerns with the security of using products over the wifi and potential hacking risks, but that hasn’t stopped products like wifi thermostats becoming more and more popular. There is no doubt that wifi thermostats are one of the latest trends in home products. They have their critics, but are also really useful for many. Whether they will catch-on and stand the test of time remains to be seen. Try one yourself and see what you think!