I just recently decided to substitute our home’s control unit.
We were living with a plastic device that needed to be manually adjusted.
I would frequently forget to raise or lower the setting before leaving the house for the day. The furnace or air conditioner would blast for hours, maintaining perfect comfort in an empty home. On those afternoons when I remembered to make the adjustment, both of us would return to an warm or chilly house. There was no option of setting up a program that would accommodate our household schedule. I spent some time researching smart control units. While there are lots of weird makes & models, they all allow access through an app on the iPhone, tablet or laptop. These modern alternatives make it possible to raise or lower temperature settings, get information, monitor performance & utilize the multiple features from virtually anywhere at any time, and some of the models keep track of adjustments made while both of us were in the first week after installation & build a schedule accordingly. I chose a control component that includes GPS tracking. The device recognizes the location of each family member’s smartphone. Whenever both of us enter or exit a set perimeter around the house, it makes adjustments to the operation of the furnace or air conditioner, then plus, this model provides reminders to schedule maintenance & substitute air filters. It sends alerts if there is a power outage or a temperature fluctuation. Since installing the new control unit, I’ve observed a significant improvement in the comfort of the home. I also like the energy savings on our daily utility bills. Those lower costs have helped to reuse the investment into a better control unit.