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Whether you’re an experienced smart home user or are just getting your smart setup off the ground, there’s plenty of automation potential you’re probably not using. Smart thermostats are among the best solutions for high energy bills, as installing one can reduce your utility bills by 10% to 23%.
Also: 10 useful smart home gadgets that make life so much easier (and most are discounted)
Some fine-tuning of your thermostat features, however, can save you even more money each year by mitigating expensive temperature spikes, keeping heating and cooling to off-peak hours, and using your thermostat’s smart features to your advantage.
How to get ahead of temperature spikes
What you’ll need: The IFTTT app on iOS or Android and a smart thermostat.
1. Download and log into IFTTT
Apps like IFTTT (if this, then that) let you connect services and other apps on your phone to your smart home, so you can set triggers beyond the limits of your home automation system.
Using IFTTT requires that you connect your smart thermostat to the app when creating an applet.
2. Create an applet
Applets are the automations you can create within IFTTT. They’re easy to create with an “if X happens, then Y should follow” structure.
3. Set your trigger with Weather Underground
This integration lets you access specific local weather triggers, such as when the local temperature falls below 30 or rises above 85 degrees.
4. Set your action
Determine what action will happen when the trigger happens. This can mean setting your thermostat to cool the house by two degrees below the usual temperature before 8:00 a.m. on a day when the temperature will be 85 degrees or higher.
Pre-cooling your home can save you money, as long as it’s done correctly. Here’s how to pre-cool your home the right way:
- Pre-cool during off-peak hours: Check with your utility company to find out when energy costs are highest and lowest before setting up your automations. While providers most commonly set peak hours from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., rates are also lowest at other times, often in the middle of the night.
- Watch for daily temperatures: Make sure this automation only runs when the temperature outside is higher than usual, so you’re not overworking your A/C.
- Ensure your house is properly insulated: For pre-cooling and pre-heating to work as intended, your home must be well insulated so you don’t lose cold air or heat. Check windows and doors for drafts and add weather stripping as needed. Also, keep blinds and curtains closed to keep cool or warm air from escaping.
- Don’t overdo it: Running your HVAC off and on during extreme temperatures will overwork your system and run up your energy bill. Setting wide temperature ranges is best, and running the system when temperatures are milder is also best.
Unfortunately, most popular home automation systems are reactive (like Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa), meaning their automations respond to events after they’ve happened rather than to events forecast to occur.
You don’t have to use IFTTT to achieve this, though it is rather convenient. You can also watch your local weather yourself or create an automation to do it for you with other systems, like Home Assistant. You could use Gemini for Home to create a similar automation, but this would require a subscription, as the free version doesn’t allow complex routines like the example above.
You can also use sensors to easily automate your smart thermostat without resorting to IFTTT. Smart temperature sensors that work with Alexa, Apple, and Google can be added to your home and controlled with automations within their respective apps. Just choose a sensor in the home automation app, set a temperature as the trigger, and choose how the thermostat will respond.
For example, if you have a smart temperature sensor in your kids’ bedroom, you can set your smart thermostat to cool whenever the temperature in that room exceeds 68 degrees.
