How Do Smart Thermostats Work?

how do smart thermostats work

Thermostats control the temperature in your home in the Burlington and Cherry Hill area. They may make you wonder: how do smart thermostats work? This device contains high-tech sensors that assess the temperature in your home. As a result, they automatically turn your heating or cooling system on and off.

You can learn more about how thermostats function with Cherry Hill’s top-rated air conditioner repair company. Allow our team at Davis Heating & Cooling to answer your questions when you contact us at 844-226-9872.

Use Your Thermostat to Set the Temperature in Your Home

Thermostats serve as your control center for your home’s heating and cooling system. If you have a smart thermostat, you simply enter the temperature into the device. The device then activates your HVAC unit until it reaches the desired temperature.

Many smart thermostats allow you to change the temperature from apps on your phone or another mobile device. In some cases, you can even program the thermostat to turn on at certain times of the day or when you’re not at home.

How to Program Your Smart Thermostat

Programmable thermostats do not all function in the same way. Therefore, we recommend that you read the instruction manual that came with your thermostat. The manual should list the steps to connecting your thermostat to smartphone apps or other controls.

What if you can’t find your owner’s manual or have other questions about the operation of a smart thermostat? You can reach out to our skilled technicians. We’ll review the kind of thermostat you have and go over its functions to ensure it works properly.

Smart Thermostats Measure the Temperature in Your Home

Smart thermostats use a digital system to give you complete control over the temperature in your home. They begin this process by detecting the current temperature inside your home with a device we call a “thermistor.”

The thermistor monitors the shifts in electrical resistance associated with changing temperatures to track how hot or cold it grows inside your property. If the temperatures rise above – or dip below – the set temperature level, the thermostat sends signals to your heating or cooling system, turning it on.

Zoning and Smart Thermostat Operation

You may set up system zoning with some smart thermostat systems. Generally, zoning works best for large houses with multiple floors. In these set-ups, you may find that the temperatures vary significantly between the ground floor and the property’s upper levels.

HVAC professionals may also recommend a zoning system if you notice that:

  • Some rooms in your home always feel cold
  • You have high ceilings in some rooms
  • Some areas of your house receive more sunlight than others

Zoning involves installing multiple smart thermostats throughout your home. Each thermostat connects to a control panel. The devices then assess the temperature in their respective section of your home.

Zoning and Dampers in Your Ductwork

If you have multiple thermostats to control your home’s temperature, they work in harmony to keep you comfortable. These devices do not send conflicting messages to your heating and cooling system.

Instead, they each control dampers located inside the ductwork in your walls. They either open or close these dampers to control the temperature in different areas.

Benefits of Setting Up Zoning

How do smart thermostats work? They monitor the temperatures throughout your home and give you greater control than traditional systems. This control can easily extend to setting up zoning throughout your home.

The greater control of heating and cooling offered by zoning can help you save money on your energy expenses. Zoning ensures your system does not have to run as much to heat or cool the entirety of your home. You may even close dampers to certain rooms entirely, reducing the strain on your HVAC system.

You may even save around 30% on your cooling and heating bills with a properly arranged zoning system. Keep these benefits in mind when you reach out to us to set up a smart thermostat system. We can discuss zoning options with you.

Additional Smart Thermostat Options

We’ve seen a lot of advancements with smart technology in recent years. One development you may want to take advantage of includes “talking” thermostats. These thermostats verbally tell you the following:

  • Time
  • Day
  • Room temperature
  • Current temperature setting

We often recommend these models for individuals with impaired sight or senior citizens. They even come with audio set-up instructions if you want to format your thermostat independently. Of course, we’re also happy to set up the thermostat for you to ensure it’s installed the way you want.

You can select a talking thermostat that accepts voice commands as well. These thermostats often hook directly into your smartphone or home systems, like Alexa.

How Talking (and Listening) Thermostats Work

What allows smart thermostats to take your voice commands and act on them? These systems use digital sensor processors (DSPs) to understand your speech. These processors take analog signals from your voice and convert them to digital signals.

Once the thermostat has the digital signals, it transmits them through application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to your heating or cooling system. These signals then cause the system to turn on or off, changing the temperature in your home.

Consider the Placement of Your Smart Thermostat

You can enhance your smart thermostat’s function by considering its placement. These devices work best when they’re away from outside walls and potential heat sources such as:

  • Appliances
  • Windows
  • Hot water pipes
  • Heater vents
  • Sunlight

Placing a smart thermostat near a corner or stairwell may also impact its ability to function. So, we recommend avoiding these installation locations.

Find Out More About Smart Thermostats with Our Team

Are you still asking yourself, “How do smart thermostats work?” Contact us to learn more about them or schedule a smart thermostat installation by Davis Heating & Cooling in Cherry Hill, NJ. Call our skilled team at 844-226-9872 for all your thermostat and HVAC needs.