Smart Heating and Cooling
Newer generations of smart sensors and controls make heating your home more efficient, without sacrificing comfort.
In cold climates like Vermont, energy costs can skyrocket over the winter months. Smart thermostats, vents, and window shades are relatively cost-effective ways to improve occupant comfort, while saving on energy use. By using your phone or room sensors to detect when you’re home—and in some cases, which room you’re in—these devices and others can make smart choices for your household in every season.
Smart Vents
Smart vents work with smart thermostats to take room-specific temperature control a step further, by allowing you to redirect air flow to different areas of your home. After you set a room’s target temperature, the vents will automatically open and close to maintain it. Unless you’re shutting off rooms for long periods of time, energy savings from smart vents are minimal, but they can improve your comfort. In one test home, installation of eight smart vents caused an eight-degree difference in the temperature between rooms. While setup is fairly straightforward, work with an HVAC professional for larger installations to avoid overpressurizing your HVAC system, which can cause mechanical failure.
- Restrict air flow in rooms that overheat in winter or are too cold in summer
- Easy installation, with little or no modification needed to your heating and cooling system
- Choose vents with built-in air filters to improve indoor air quality
Smart Heating Systems
Smart central HVAC systems that incorporate zoning sensors and smart vents have the potential to significantly reduce heating and cooling costs. They send information to your smart thermostat about the temperature and humidity in different “zones” of your home, in order to control how often each zone is heated. Smart heating systems work best (and are most efficient) when installed during new home construction. Retrofits are generally infeasible.
- Save up to 10% on heating and cooling costs
- Automatically detect routine maintenance and mechanical issues such as a bad blower, leaky duct, or poor sealing
- For best results, install during new building construction
Smart Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans help circulate air throughout your home, and provide a welcome breeze during summer months. Their smart counterparts make operation a breeze, too, with voice-activated control. Smart fans use temperature, motion, and humidity sensors to adjust speed as needed, and can work in concert with your smart thermostat to provide more cost-effective cooling.
- Temperature, motion, and humidity sensors adjust fan speed automatically
- Use voice control, or set schedules to turn on or change speed at specific times of day
- Can work alone or with heating and cooling systems to keep energy costs down
Smart Window Coverings
Shades that open themselves at sunrise? Windows that become transparent when charged with electricity? Smart window shades and films offer an elegant solution to high energy bills. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than 50% of manual window coverings go unadjusted. Smart coverings use daylight sensors or set schedules to adjust automatically, and can work with your smart thermostat to optimize temperature and energy use. Proper use can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs.
- Reduce heating and cooling costs by 11-20%, and lighting by 3%
- Improve privacy, security, and comfort
- Buy new, or retrofit existing coverings