My current thermostat was already installed when we bought our house eight years ago.
- I am fairly certain that the thermostat is way older than I am.
It is a plastic model with a dial that needs to be manually adjusted. It allows us to raise and lower the temperature of the house. That is its only function and the device isn’t overly precise. It’s also rather ugly. I recently read an article that was talking about all the recent innovations in the thermostat technology. There are now programmable, wifi and smart thermostats on the market that offer all sorts of conveniences. According to that article, I could significantly trim my monthly bills by upgrading my thermostat. I started researching the different models available. I was a bit shocked by the prices. While a thermostat used to cost around ten dollars, the current technology is several hundred dollars. It used to be very simple to install a thermostat. I could manage the job in ten minutes. I wouldn’t’ dare attempt to install one of these sophisticated devices. I’m worried that I’ll never figure out how to use the thing. The reviews I read indicated that the majority of models are quite user-friendly. However, there were complaints of people having trouble accessing all of the many features. I am amazed by the many options today’s thermostats offer. There are models that keep track of adjustments for the first week after installation. The device learns the family’s normal patterns and creates a program to suit it. Some thermostats feature something called geofencing that knows the location of every family member’s smartphone. When the phones are within or outside of a certain radius, the thermostat automatically adjusts settings to provide ideal comfort or conserve energy.