By Bob Gatton
With today's energy costs, it's impossible to justify installing only basic thermostats in a new home. Modern thermostats not only decrease energy consumption, but they can also increase the comfort in the home all year long.
All modern thermostats fall into three main categories:
Digital thermostats are much more accurate than old-fashioned mechanical thermostats. The temperature will be more constant in the home, and the home will be more comfortable for its occupants.
Programmable thermostats can save energy by decreasing the heating or cooling when the house is unoccupied, then returning the home to a comfortable temperature before the owners return. On most you can program the thermostat to change the temperature settings several times per day, and you can also vary the program to change the settings differently on the weekends.
For instance, in the summer it can raise the temperature during the day to save energy, if everybody is at work, but on the weekends the temperature remains constant. According to Aprilaire, this type of thermostat can save as much as 18 percent of energy costs for heating and cooling the home.
Networked thermostats are linked together by a computer or system controller. In a home with more than one HVAC system, you don’t have to go to multiple thermostats to adjust the temperature in the home. Some networked thermostats can show other information on their displays, such as weather information, caller ID or the status of the security system.
And, depending on the rest of the home automation system in the house, you can control the HVAC system from your notebook computer or mobile phone. When you leave on vacation, set the thermostat at an economical level. An hour or two before you're due home, call your system and have the thermostats change to a more comfortable temperature.
The installation of some networked thermostat systems requires coordination between the HVAC subcontractor and the subcontractor who is responsible for the rest of the home automation package. So, as with the rest of a home-automation system, it's a good idea to make all the decisions before construction begins and have all the parties involved get together to discuss what each needs from the other and when.
Bob Gatton is a Knoxville, Tenn.-based home-theater and -electronics consultant and writer.
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