(800) 669-5556

Blog

Smart thermostat survey: ‘It saved me 16% on last year’s heating and air conditioning costs’

As part of a recent survey, we asked smart thermostat owners to give a review of the devices. Check out what some of them said. (Remember, up to $150 in rebates are available for smart thermostats.)

David T.; Chicago: It saved me 16% on last year’s heating and air conditioning costs.

Gayle S.; Plano: We have a Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostat at both our Illinois and Wisconsin homes.  We have had the thermostats for at least 3 years and work great.  It is nice to be able to program the level of heat or cooling when we are coming ongoing to either place.  We keep the heat way down on our Wisconsin home, so I use the thermostat to monitor the temp to determine if I need to raise  or lower the temp.  Would definitely recommend that people get a WI-Fi thermostat.

Robert H.; Chicago: I own a Nest thermostat.  It does everything it is supposed to do and does it well.  I especially like the Auto Away feature which turns off heating or cooling if your cell phone is detected at another location for a significant time.  Further the entire operation of the thermostat can be handled by a cell phone or tablet.  During this summer and last summer I participated in a program from ComEd that allows them to reset your thermostat when electric utilization is very high.  They have done this several times over the past two years raising the temperature setting from 79 degrees to 83 degrees. This lasts for several hours usually in the afternoon and did receive a rebate check last fall from ComEd for my participation.  Overall I really like this device and think it helps keep us more green.

Nicholas G.; Chicago: Ecobee thermostat helps me keep track of when my system is running, how long, and when. It’s also great to be able to control it remotely.

Chester P.: I have the Nest smart thermostat and love it. Works great! Have access to it through smart phone when away and Nest offers smoke detectors, security systems, etc. all controllable via smart phone.

Laura H.; Orland Park: The NEST Smart Thermostat learns your daily habits, adjusts accordingly, and is accessible from your telephone so that you may check on the status of the temperature and adjust it from afar.  It works great!

Michael S.; Bonfield: I installed the Nest January 2016. Changing the temp while away via smart phone is great. A quirk with the Nest is the program for temp/time changes tends to be deleted. Several times I found the Nest running on default temps not my settings as they were deleted.  BTW programing on the small screen is not advisable. Use the online setting associated with your Nest account.  These thermostats will save money. We shut ours down when leaving in the morning. Turn back on an hour before returning and  save the run time while no one is home.

Vivian K.; Chicago: I have had a smart thermostat for probably 20 years and replaced one with a newer digital version a few years ago.  Both the old one and the new one have worked beautifully and lowered my heating and cooling bills considerably, I love them!

Stewart S.; Mount Prospect: I have two Honeywell smart thermostats with one controlling the second floor and the other the first floor and basement.  These are easy to program and install, if you have at least five wires running from the HVAC unit to the thermostat, and I can check and adjust the temperatures from anywhere in the house or while traveling using the HON app on my cellphone or iPad.

Bernie S.; La Grange: A very good way to save both energy and money. Set your program and you have worry free operation that keeps you comfortable day and night. No need for constant changes.

Robert F.; Skokie: Very well. Have saved an average of 12 percent on our power cost over 4 years and an average of 16 percent on our gas usage.

Glenn G.; Chicago: We have two HVAC units and two NEST thermostats.  They absolutely meet our expectations and we’re confident that we’ve saved energy and money as a result.

William K.; Mundelein: I have Honeywell Wifi Smart Thermostat (RTH9580WF) It is a great thermostat. Works great with the WiFi. I am able to control while away from home. Besides the remote feature it also let’s one control how it looks on the wall. I would recommend this one or similar types.

Cameron D.: Bloomington: I recently moved into a new apartment that uses a smart thermostat. At first it was confusing on how it worked simply because I had never encountered a smart thermostat. However, after reading the directions I found the thermostat to be easy to understand and operate. It is great to set the thermostat at a higher temperature when I know I will be gone so less energy is used. I definitely recommend a smart thermostat to everyone who owns their own home.

Steve S.; Forest Park: Perfect- saving money by adjusting temp when not home, adjusting for rate spikes

Michael L; Downers Grove: It has worked well. If you are on a trip and forgot to set the thermostat to a more economical setting, you can do it from wherever you can get internet access. When you are gone to work, you can remotely adjust the thermostat to get the place nice and cool on a hot day or toasty on a cold day, The cost savings potential is there if you opt to use it.  You can remotely monitor the temperature when you are on a trip. You can detect a furnace problem remotely by looking at the inside temp reading on the thermostat. If you are on a winter trip, this can be invaluable in letting you know the furnace is working fine.

Linda W.; Tinley Park: I have the Honeywell thermostat. It works well. I can program the thermostat for multiple days of the week and times of day, cool or heat or off, and fan (auto and on). I can control the temperature via my smartphone, so that if I travel, I can check the thermometer and adjust it for persons at home who have trouble with technology. The phone app also connects to my computer and I get alerts on the phone and computer when the temperature is out of range (eg, I have the system turned off altogether), when the internet provider is down and when it comes back up.  You don’t have to use the app to use the thermostat – it can also be managed manually. There is another piece right on the furnace that tells on/off, heat/cool.

Hannah P.; Chicago: I love the NEST. It’s an amazing product that allows me to smartly and more efficiently control the temperature in my home. I’m thrilled with the added functionality and the green aspect doesn’t hurt.

Tim K.; Evergreen: I have been using a Nest since they came out B4 rebates Self learning feature makes it a perfect $ saver. I set temp on way home and find home comfortable. Have 3 dogs roaming the house and they have no effect on Nest  I save on Heating and cooling, and program updates add features and stats to keep system In Top shape

Andrew W.: Nest installed on main floor of home.  It’s been great, tracking my usage and auto away settings when going on vacation.  Great purchase.

Cesar R; Oak Brook: I have been able to review and adjust my thermostat remotely to aid in controlling our energy consumption. Has drastically lowered our energy bill.

Tom P.; Bradford: I have owned a smart thermostat for several years and it allows me to vary my home temperature based upon time of day, i.e. warmer during the day and cooler during the night.   I more recently converted to a Wi-Fi smart thermostat which allows me to monitor the temperature while I am on winter vacation and detected a furnace failure 2 weeks after leaving.

Mike W.; Clifton: Nest thermostat has worked very well. Ability to control thermostat via smartphone allows me adjust temps when away and upon return home.

Chad K.; Bloomington: It’s been great.  I’ve programmed it to raise or lower temps when we’re away or sleeping and it’s worked great.  When we’ve needed to bump the degrees a bit here or there for comfort, it takes very little time to reprogram.

Ben S.; Jacksonville: My ecobee3 has been a great way to learn more about our energy use.  It has also called out problems with our HVAC thanks to its multiple sensors.

Bernard M.; Glen Carbon: It is great. I am able to control the heat/AC during the weekday when both myself and I are at work. Web are able to make adjustments on the weekend when we are home all day. Another advantage is that we can set the temperature settings to an either higher or lower setting while away and then have the setting return to normal about an hour before returning home.