How Learning Thermostats are Different from Programmable Thermostats

December 04, 2018

Your thermostat is key to how much you are spending on energy costs. Simply programming your thermostat for periods when you’re sleeping or not at home can make a great impact without negatively affecting your comfort levels. Depending on which thermostat you select, you might benefit from a lot of additional features.

At Select Comfort Systems Heating & Air Conditioning, we’ve got several programmable thermostats to meet your needs—from the most basic models to the newest learning thermostats. How will you know what will work best for you? First, learn the difference between basic programmable thermostats and advanced learning models. Either of these can help you save energy and money, but you’ll need to select which features are most important to your home comfort.

The majority of programmable thermostats will allow you to schedule your days to control temperatures when you’re usually there and not at home. Depending on the model you choose, you might be able to input one schedule, which you may end up overriding on the days you are home. Some models will let you program your weekdays on one schedule and your weekends on a separate schedule. You’ll also want to look at the number of periods you can set up during the day. For instance, will you want the temps different when you sleep, when you wake up, when you’re at work and when you are home in the evening? Check that the thermostat you select can adapt to your needs.

For some individuals, being able to set a regular schedule (or two) and override it when needed is enough. But if you want additional flexibility, it’s probably time to consider a smart thermostat. A smart thermostat allows you to completely customize a heating and cooling schedule for each individual day of the week.

Flexibility isn’t the only benefit that smart thermostats provide, but they’re also Wi-Fi enabled so you can regulate your home’s temperature from anywhere. Some selections of smart thermostats take innovation even further—these are called “learning thermostats.” Learning thermostats do everything a regular smart thermostat can do, but they can also learn from your behaviors and adjust your heating and cooling schedules based on the actual activity in your home. Some models don’t even need to be programmed—you just turn them on and they will figure everything out on their own over the span of a few days.

So, no matter what your heating and cooling desires are, Select Comfort Systems Heating & Air Conditioning will help you find the most appropriate thermostat for your home and budget. You’ll get to enjoy ultimate home comfort with potential energy savings. Contact us at 801-305-4777 to learn more, or book an appointment with us online.