How Do Smart Thermostats Save You Money?
Key takeaways:
• Setting the temperature lower or higher when you’re away saves energy and money.
• A smartphone app allows you to adjust the temperature even if you’re away on vacation.
• Your average savings will vary based on your temperature settings, climate, and more.
By Anne Fonda
As energy costs continue to rise, saving money on your energy bills has never been more important. Smart thermostats have emerged as a revolutionary solution, allowing homeowners to optimize energy consumption and reduce costs. In this blog, we will explore how smart thermostats can help save money and energy. For more information and to learn which smart thermostat may be right for your home, contact your local Trane dealer today.
Understanding how smart thermostats work
Do smart thermostats save money? Definitely! Do smart thermostats save energy? Absolutely! Investing in a smart thermostat is a smart decision for your home, your wallet, and the environment. Here’s how smart thermostats help you save money and energy.
Unlike traditional thermostats, smart thermostats leverage advanced technology, including Wi-Fi connectivity and machine learning algorithms, to offer higher automation and control.
Trane smart thermostats allow you to remotely manage and program your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system through the Trane Home App or a web interface- anywhere you have internet connectivity. Our smart thermostats can be linked with voice-activated assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, enabling you to adjust the temperature setting with simple voice commands.
This can come in handy in the middle of the night if you’re hot or cold, or if you’re having a big family gathering and you need to cool things down. In addition, a smart thermostat is the heart of a smart HVAC system.
“Smart HVAC systems are a game-changer. By intelligently optimizing temperature and airflow, they not only deliver superior comfort and air quality, but also significantly cut energy waste, putting money back in your pocket and giving you long-lasting peace of mind.”
-Michael Morey, Product Management Leader, Hardware
Learn more about our Smart HVAC Solutions.
How to save money with a smart thermostat
1. Take advantage of personalized scheduling with precision temperature control
One of the key ways that smart thermostats save money is through precision temperature control. Traditional thermostats rely on manual adjustments, often leading to temperature overshooting and wasting energy. Smart thermostats, on the other hand, can maintain a more consistent temperature by learning from occupants' patterns and adjusting heating and cooling cycles accordingly.
Another vital feature of smart thermostats is their ability to create personalized schedules. You can schedule specific temperature settings based on your daily routines, allowing the HVAC system to work more efficiently when occupants are present and reducing energy usage when the house is unoccupied.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), setting the temperature for 8 hours a day when you’re away from home either lower or higher by 7-10°F can save you approximately 10% on your heating and cooling bills. Take special care if you have a heat pump system to minimize the use of a backup electric heat strip system while you’re away.
You can save even more if you’re vacationing and leave the temperature lower or higher 24 hours a day while you’re gone. No higher than 80-85° in the summer, and no lower than 50° in the winter, to prevent problems. If there are any changes to the routine, you can use the Home App to make adjustments.
2. Set up geofencing technology
Smart thermostats often incorporate geofencing technology, which can help save even more money and energy. Geofencing uses a homeowner's smartphone's GPS to determine their location relative to the property. When the smartphone is within a predetermined distance from home, the smart thermostat will adjust the temperature to ensure a comfortable environment upon the homeowner's arrival.
Conversely, when the smartphone moves outside the geofenced area, the thermostat will set the home to an energy-saving temperature to avoid unnecessary heating or cooling. Set this up for your Trane smart thermostat by following these instructions Geofence: Location-Based Automations – Trane Home.
3. Energy-efficient remote monitoring
Another way smart thermostats save money and energy is through remote monitoring. You can access your smart thermostat's controls from anywhere with the Home App or via the web portal. This allows you to manage temperature settings even when you’re away from home.
This feature can be invaluable if you forget to schedule a vacation mode before you leave for the airport. No problem. Do it from your phone. By remotely lowering (or raising) the temperature during your absence, you reduce wasteful energy consumption, save on your energy bills, and ensure a comfortable environment upon your return.
Source: Trane Home
4. Review the energy usage reports and insights
Smart thermostats generate energy usage reports and insights, providing homeowners with valuable data on their HVAC system's performance. These reports offer a clear breakdown of energy consumption patterns, identifying peak usage times and potential areas for improvement.
By analyzing this data, homeowners can make informed decisions about adjusting their habits or optimizing their HVAC system's settings. This level of awareness empowers homeowners to actively take steps to save energy and reduce utility expenses over time.
To view the Runtime History Data, simply log into the Trane Home App, select your thermostat, and select the History (graph) icon at the bottom of the screen. For more detailed reports, you can log into the Trane Home web portal, select your thermostat, and View History.
5. Take advantage of adaptive learning for increased efficiency
Smart thermostats continue to learn and adapt over time, honing their temperature adjustments to maximize efficiency and cost savings. As you use the thermostat and interact with the system, it gains insights into your preferences and daily routines.
The more data the smart thermostat accumulates, the better it becomes at predicting your needs and making automatic adjustments to align with your habits. This adaptive learning process creates a finely-tuned HVAC system that minimizes energy waste and optimizes comfort without requiring constant manual adjustments.
6. Enable Trane Diagnostics to stay on top of maintenance and save on repairs
This item relates only to Trane smart thermostats. And remember, you don’t have to have a Trane HVAC system to get the benefits of a Trane smart thermostat. The new Priority Smart Thermostat (a redesign of the XL824) is compatible with any standard HVAC system (excluding variable speed systems).
By enabling Trane Diagnostics via the Home App, you can potentially save time and money. Dealer Diagnostics gives your Trane dealer a look behind the scenes of your HVAC system’s performance. The smart thermostat sends real-time data to the dealer, alerting them to performance trends, maintenance needs, and any problems.
“With Trane Diagnostics, your system is connected and designed to share performance insights with your dealer so they can spot, diagnose, and often fix issues remotely. That means fewer surprises for the Technician, faster service for the homeowner, and comfort that never takes a day off.”
-Mark Racine, Product Manager, Diagnostics and Tech App
Maximize savings with a smart thermostat
When asking, “Is a smart thermostat worth it?” homeowners should know that savings will be different for each smart thermostat user. Factors like climate and your energy rates impact how much you save. Check out a few scenarios where you’re most likely to save the most:
- Homes with zoned HVAC systems have more control over the temperature in different rooms and where they’re spending their energy dollars.
- Regions with higher energy rates or extremely hot or cold weather will see more savings with a smart thermostat.
- Vacation homes can save more with a smart thermostat because you can turn your HVAC system into a more efficient setting when no one is staying there.
Use a Trane smart thermostat to optimize energy savings
Does a smart thermostat save money? Absolutely! Smart thermostats are an invaluable addition to any home. Their ability to provide precision temperature control, personalized scheduling, geofencing capabilities, energy usage reports, energy-efficient remote monitoring, and adaptive learning all contribute to significant cost savings and enhanced energy efficiency.
By leveraging the power of smart technology, homeowners can take control of their energy usage, reduce their carbon footprint, and enjoy savings on their utility bills. Consult with your local Trane dealer to see which of our smart thermostats is right for your system.
Anne Fonda, Content Writer
A Content Writer with Trane Technologies, Anne Fonda researches topics and writes for Trane® and associated residential HVAC brands. She works in collaboration with Trane Technologies subject matter experts, offering easy-to-understand, informative content on complex topics. Her goal is to help consumers make informed decisions on the products and services they need.
She has written for HVAC and other service provider websites for over 16 years. Before transitioning to web content writing, Anne had a 14-year stint as an award-winning journalist. She graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.
When she’s not working, Anne enjoys playing word games, reading, gardening, spending time with family, and visiting gardens and museums.
Expert review by Caitlin Butler, Product Manager, Thermostats and Home App
