What to do? If you have a second home or if you are away from your home often, I’m sure you are concerned about the safety of your home while you are away. You may have an alarm company to protect your home from intruders, fire or possibly vandals but what about the operation of your heating and air conditioning system? Damage from frozen water lines bursting or mold from an air conditioning unit not operating can be a huge expense and much more than a simple inconvenience. Even if you are away for work during the day, you home, pets, or furnishings can suffer if the heating or air conditioning systems fail. Then there is the energy used if you don’t wisely control your systems.

Recently, several manufacturers have come out with a totally new concept in thermostats for your home. These thermostats not only register the temperature in your home and turn on your furnace or air conditioning unit when the temperature in your home varies from the setting you have chosen, but they do a multitude of tasks.

Here are some of the things this new breed of thermostat can do.

  1. These thermostats connect to the internet via your wireless router in your home.
  2. As long as your wireless internet is up, you can control the temperature, humidity and ventilation from your computer or smartphone. Yes, anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection. You’ll note I said control your thermostat not just read the current temperature.
  3. They are designed to work with just about every residential system made, both new and older systems so you are not dependent on selecting a particular brand of equipment, you can select the one best for your needs.
  4. The thermostats are upgraded automatically as new features are added.
  5. They have built in reminders for filter changing and humidifier service.
  6. They can tell you when the system needs to have maintenance.
  7. They have intelligent temperature setback recovery. They decide when to start heating up the home after a night setback so the home is at your desired temperature when you step out of bed.
  8. They can display the weather for the new several days and use the outside temperature to decide when to start the setback recovery mode.
  9. They have short term temperature override so if you are staying up late you can be comfortable.
  10. Some have sensors that put the system into energy saving mode if the thermostat does not sense someone in the home.
  11. They can warn you be email if the system is not working correctly. They can also warn you if your sump pump or other device is not working.
  12. They can also send emails to your contractor or a friend that the system is not working properly.
  13. They are very user friendly.

Are these new thermostats astronomically expensive you ask? They are more expensive that a basic thermostat, but considering the energy savings and peace of mind you get in return, and the price is reasonable. We have several units we recommend depending on your needs, so contact us today for detailed information.

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