Smart thermostats
En los últimos años, muchas personas han recurrido a los termostatos inteligentes para ajustar a distancia la calefacción y la refrigeración de sus hogares. No sólo tienen un aspecto más elegante y sofisticado que sus homólogos no inteligentes, sino que ofrecen mucho en términos de eficiencia, comodidad y funciones. Y lo mejor de todo es que pueden ayudarle a ahorrar en gastos de calefacción y refrigeración.
What exactly is a smart thermostat?
A smart thermostat is a thermostat that can be controlled with a phone, tablet, smart speaker, or other internet-connected device. Smart thermostats often allow you to program desired temperature settings, and can also be incorporated into home automation systems.
What else can a smart thermostat do?
Depending on the specific model, smart thermostats can offer a host of interesting features. Some thermostats, like the Nest Learning Thermostat, can learn your heating and cooling preferences and automatically adjust based on that learning. Many of the best smart thermostats have diagnostic features, which can detect if there is a problem with the ducts or the heating and cooling system. Your smart thermostat can also remind you when it's time for system maintenance, for example when it's time to change the air filter. Additionally, your thermostat can provide you with details about your energy consumption.
If you opt for an Ecobee 4 or Ecobee SmartThermostat, it has Alexa built in, so you don't necessarily have to buy a separate smart speaker. Some thermostats also include room sensors that can measure the temperature in a specific room or area of the home and heat or cool that room specifically based on the temperature in that local area, reducing hot or cold spots in the home. If your thermostat has geofencing, it can recognize when you enter the house and save heating and cooling costs when you're away.
How does a smart thermostat work?
To understand how a smart thermostat works, you first have to understand how regular thermostats work. A thermostat uses temperature to determine when to turn the fan and air conditioning or heating on and off. It actually works like a light switch, except it incorporates temperature and into the equation (to help you determine when to turn the fan, heating, and cooling on and off). A typical thermostat has a hot wire, a common wire, a wire that connects to the fan, and wires that connect to your heating and cooling system. You may also have extra wires for things like auxiliary heat, emergency heat, two-stage heating or cooling, or wires for systems that have separate or independent air conditioning or heating. When a specific temperature is set on the thermostat, the fan and heating or cooling are turned off once the internal thermometer reaches the desired temperature. Here's how to check your thermostat.
Smart thermostats work similarly, except they also connect to your home's Wi-Fi. This allows you to change thermostat settings remotely using a companion app. When you enter a temperature setting in the app, it transmits that setting to the thermostat over your Wi-Fi network, and the thermostat then sends that signal to the fan and HVAC system. When you use a smart speaker like Google Home and say "OK Google, set the temperature to 70 degrees," the Google Home app communicates the command to the thermostat's companion app, which travels over the Wi-Fi network to the thermostat. It all happens so quickly that you'll probably never realize all the components that go into simply adjusting the temperature in your home.
What is the difference between a smart thermostat and a programmable thermostat?
A programmable thermostat allows the user to enter schedule and program settings. A smart thermostat is a step beyond a programmable thermostat, as it typically allows the user to program the desired settings and connects to Wi-Fi for more advanced features and functionality.