What are the Benefits of a Smart Thermostat?

Today, homeowners are increasingly shifting toward smart home products, including smart thermostats. According to the Park Associates Smart Thermostat Market Assessment, smart thermostat sales may reach nearly 16.2 million units in 2024-2025.

A smart thermostat can connect to your home’s Wi-Fi, allowing you to access it from your phone or tablet from anywhere with an internet connection. While that functionality alone opens a world of possibilities for helping to save energy, some of the best smart thermostats have a two-way communication feature designed to improve comfort.

A standard thermostat helps maintain your desired temperature set point by sending a signal to your single-stage heating and cooling (HVAC) system to turn it on or off – it’s essentially just a switch. A smart communicating thermostat, along with modern inverter-driven systems, helps manage both comfort and efficiency without having to trade one for the other.

Here are seven reasons on how a smart communicating thermostat can benefit you:

1. Wi-Fi Mobile Temperature Control

   One of the primary features of a smart thermostat is its capability to be controlled remotely, as it has a built-in Wi-Fi connection. Using a dedicated app, users can adjust the temperature of their home from anywhere with an internet connection. This means you can adjust the temperature to help save energy while you’re away from home and set it to your preferred temperature before you get home.

2. Voice Control

   With the addition of a voice control feature, users can adjust their home’s temperature using voice commands. This feature makes temperature adjustments convenient and accessible to a wide range of users. Some smart thermostats can be integrated with popular voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa^® and Google Assistant^®.

3. Away Mode (Geo-fencing)

   
   
   
   Geo-fencing leverages a user's smartphone's GPS (Global Positioning System) capabilities to automatically adjust the home's temperature based on the phone’s location. Homeowners can define the radius of the geo-fenced area and specify temperature settings for when the user is inside or outside of that area. When the user leaves the designated location, the smart thermostat is designed to adjust to your previously identified, energy-saving temperature automatically. A geo-fencing feature adds another layer of automation and the opportunity for additional energy savings.

   For example, if you were to leave your home to run some errands during the summer, your smart thermostat with a geo-location feature would detect that the smartphone has left the established radius. Upon receiving this signal, it could automatically adjust the set temperature from 73°F to 77°F to help save energy usage. Once back within the radius, the temperature can readjust to the user's 73°F comfort setting. This feature may help lower utility bills and reduce energy consumption over time.

4. Communicating Control

   A smart communicating thermostat is designed to continuously “talk” to the equipment it is connected to and allows the equipment to “talk back.” This is a two-way communication cycle based on real-time conditions and user preference without the homeowner needing to manage the system. This feature enables HVAC systems with variable speed or inverter technology to share vital operational information, helping your system run at its optimum level.

   By exchanging information about the temperature and humidity inside your home, variable speed systems or those with inverter technology can make small, frequent adjustments to optimize indoor comfort. This ensures that the system doesn’t need to operate at full, 100% capacity all the time. A slow-speed, controlled operation can often reduce uncomfortable temperature fluctuations, manage humidity levels, enhance indoor air quality, and minimize energy consumption. Similar to a dimmer switch for a light, only a communicating thermostat can help deliver this level of precision when connected to a variable speed or inverter-driven HVAC system.

5. Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

   Some advanced smart thermostats are equipped to connect with indoor air quality accessories that detect various aspects of indoor air quality. These sensors can measure the composition of the air, including humidity, but also particulates and volatile organic compounds or VOCs. As the sensors continuously monitor the indoor environment, the smart thermostat will send alerts or notifications to the user’s smartphone if it detects indoor air pollution, which can often be 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.² This additional monitoring feature is available in the Daikin One Touch and Daikin One+ thermostats when equipped with accessory equipment like the Daikin One Home Air Monitor.  

6. Programmable Schedule

   A smart thermostat with programmable scheduling capabilities allows you to set up specific temperature schedules based on your living habits. Since smart thermostats typically have a user-friendly interface, you can create, edit, and manage your temperature schedules, including vacation or away modes. With remote access via a smartphone app, you can modify your schedules from anywhere with an internet connection. This feature gives you great control over your home’s heating and cooling systems, allowing you to maintain comfort while maximizing energy efficiency, which may help save money on utility bills.

7. Servicing

Imagine never walking into a hot or cold house again because your heating or cooling system has failed. Just as users can access and adjust their smart thermostats through a dedicated smartphone app, some thermostats are designed with a remote connection point for contractors. With the homeowner's permission, a contractor with this type of direct connection can often evaluate the system remotely, adjust internal settings for optimal performance, or identify issues that may lead to a significant indoor comfort system problems. For example, if a system operates outside designed performance levels, an alert could be automatically triggered, notifying the contractor to address it – often without having to leave their office.

A servicing feature, like the Daikin One Cloud Services available through the Daikin One Touch or One+ thermostats,  may help decrease the wait time for service without you having to sacrifice indoor comfort for extended periods of time.

If you are considering upgrading your HVAC system, do your research and ask your local licensed professional HVAC dealer about an inverter system with a smart communicating thermostat. They will be able to assess your indoor environment and guide you to the optimal system – and thermostat - for your needs.

Additional Information

Google, Google Assistant, and all related logos are trademarks of Google, or its affiliates. Amazon, Alexa, and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or its affiliates.

1. https://www.parksassociates.com/products/energy-management/smart-thermostat-market-assessment-23
2. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality