Keeping your Meridian home comfortable can be a bit of a balancing act. On one hand, you want to ensure that you always come home to a warm and enjoyable temperature. On the other hand, you don’t want your heating bills to be so high that you can’t afford to enjoy any wintertime activities. Fortunately, finding the right thermostat for your heating system can help you achieve this balance. The good news is, A-1 Heating and Air has a few suggestions to help you find the best thermostat for your needs.
Understand Your Daily Routine
When choosing a thermostat, it’s important to understand your daily routine. By understanding your routine, you can understand if you need a sophisticated smart thermostat or a simple mechanical thermostat. If you spend most of your time at home, for example, you may not have to program your thermostat since your temperature needs remain largely the same throughout the day. However, if you lead a busy life and spend quite a bit of time away from home, then a programmable thermostat will help you strike a better balance between comfort and energy usage.
Understand Your Heating System
At A-1 Heating, Air Conditioning & Electric we’ve seen a lot of different heating systems over the years. While all heating systems ultimately provide the same result, the way they achieve that result can vary quite widely. Therefore, when choosing a thermostat for your heating system, it’s important to understand what type of system you have in your home. If you have a zoned system, for example, you’ll either need multiple thermostats to control the separate systems, or you’ll need an advanced thermostat that is capable of controlling multiple zones at once.
Understand Your Control Needs
The most advanced option available for homeowners is the smart thermostat. As with other items with the “smart” label, smart thermostats are internet-connected devices that can be controlled using the thermostat itself or with an app on your phone. If you need to be able to control your heating system from wherever you are, a smart thermostat is the best way to go. Additionally, if busy holiday schedules will see you changing your normal patterns of living, a smart thermostat can adapt to these changes to help you save as much energy as possible.
Understand Your Power Situation
Different types of thermostats have different power requirements. Mechanical thermostats, for example, don’t require any power at all. Simple programmable thermostats only require a AA battery to power the monochromatic display. However, more advanced programmable thermostats, including smart thermostats, require a constant power connection to keep the screen running and to maintain the Wi-Fi connection.
Therefore, before you install a new thermostat, it’s important to make sure that your HVAC system can supply these power needs. While newer furnaces have a dedicated wire to provide power to a thermostat, older furnaces either have to be “tricked” into providing power to a thermostat or be rewired to ensure that power is available. If you aren’t sure how to install a thermostat yourself, A-1 Heating & Air will be happy to do the job for you. Schedule anytime.
Consider Usability
As with any device that you use in your home, one of the most important considerations is how well you’re able to use it. If you’re the type of person who takes a while to get the hang of new devices, then you need to consider that fact as you choose a thermostat for your heating system.
After all, you can have the most advanced thermostat in the world, but if you don’t know how to use it, it won’t do you any good. Therefore, it’s a good idea to talk with the heating and cooling professionals at A-1 Heating and Air Conditioning to understand the features of different types of thermostats. We can help determine which one will work best for you.
More Than Just Thermostats
At A-1 Heating, Air Conditioning & Electric we aim to be your one-stop shop for home comfort needs in Meridian, ID. That’s why we offer so much more than thermostat services. We also handle electrical repairs, installations, HVAC repairs, and more. By using us for multiple projects around your home, you can be sure that everything will work well together, providing you with a seamless home-comfort experience. This comprehensive approach has been satisfying customers for over 65 years. For more information about thermostats, contact A-1 Heating & Air today for the best HVAC professionals in the Boise area.