What is a smart thermostat?
It’s a brilliant piece of tech that lets you control your thermostat from your phone – which means you can turn your heating on and off, set a timer and more. It’s great if you’re on your way home and want a warm reception, wake up to a cold morning and don’t want to get out of bed or are off on holiday and just remembered to turn the heating off at the airport. It happens!
Plus, smart thermostats can monitor your usage over time, learn your routine or even switch on your heating automatically when you’re getting close to home. Set it up with Amazon Echo or Google Assistant, and you can even control it with your voice. Clever stuff!
How can a smart thermostat make me greener and save me money?
By learning your habits, smart thermostats can optimise your heating and A/C habits. What does that mean? It can learn when you get up, leave for work and are out of the house – so it’s way more efficient with heating and cooling. Traditional thermostats are far fiddlier to program and don’t adapt to your changing plans.
Plus, most people don’t actually get around to programming their thermostats. Having manual control over your home heating on your smartphone means it’s extremely easy to cut down your usage.
Some smart thermostats give you control over heating in different rooms, hot water control, draught detection and even holiday modes that protect your pipes while you’re away.
All this means you're using less energy, cutting down carbon emissions and being more environmentally friendly.
How do I install a smart thermostat?
Here’s a guide to help you install your smart thermostat. First, you’ll need to install your Heat Link – which is the part that controls the boiler. It’s best to get a professional electrician to do this bit for you. There’s no point taking any risks.
1. Pick a room where you spend a lot of time to place your thermostat. It doesn’t need to be attached to a wall, but it should have a plug socket nearby.
2. Slot the micro-USB cable into the socket of the smart thermostat. It’s probably on the base.
3. If you’re screwing it to the wall, use a spirit level to make sure that it’s level. Then attach the base to the wall.
4. Now attach the display to the base. If you hear a click, it probably means that it’s securely mounted.
5. Then you’re ready to set up! Most models will have an app which will take you through this process.
Google Nest 3rd Generation Smart Thermostat
Ok, so you know what a smart thermostat is and how to get one installed, but which one is right for you? Well, how about the GOOGLE Nest Learning Thermostat?
It has a big, bright display, adapts itself to your habits and can control hot water too. You can control it from your smartphone or there’s a handy remote control too – great if guests are visiting. Plus, you can use Alexa or Google Assistant to control it via voice.
Want to monitor your heating and hot water usage? It’s easy with Home Report, which you’ll get once a month. It will also suggest ways you can use less – which will save you money in the long run.
Nest Sense even knows the weather – so it will take that into account when working out how warm to keep your home.
It also comes in four colours to suit your home colour scheme: black gold, silver/grey and white.
Pair the Google Nest smart thermostat with the Google Nest Mini smart speaker
Get even more power over your home by pairing your Google Nest smart thermostat with Google Nest Mini. Why? This will allow you to control your thermostat with your voice and control the temperature in individual rooms. Here’s how:
1. Open up your Google Home app.
2. Go to the menu and find Home Control
3. You’ll see a list of all devices connected to Google Home. Click add, and you’ll be able to find your smart thermostat.
4. You can then assign rooms, for example bedroom, kitchen etc.
5. Happy heating!
Find out more about Google Nest Mini and how it can make your home smarter?