Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This requires an opt-in (not opt-out) by the customer. If the customer didn't opt-in to the program, then utilities cannot access it.
Nice to know......but for the rich, paranoid of technology, ignorant types like me, it still may send a good buyer running for the hills.....or the seller having to spend significant "effort" to convince them otherwise.
Obviously, nothing that the buyer can buy for a couple of hundred bucks will add more than a couple of hundred bucks to the value.
On the other hand, if your smart thermostat keeps your energy prices down, and you then show your energy bills to a potential buyer or they're part of your listing, that could conceivably help.
No it might decrease the value. If I bought a home with a "smart" thermostat, I would have it uninstalled and replaced with a conventional one.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This.
I have yet to find the benefit of a "smart" thermostat, aside from its making its designers richer because nobody can find a simple one any more.
I'd be perfectly happy with a thermostat that keeps the temperature I set for a certain number of hours, and then shuts off the furnace/AC.
If I want something "fancy", it would be one that turns on the furnace or AC at a certain time, then turns them off at a certain later time.
And if I want one REALLY fancy, it would be a thermostat that does what I just said above... and then repeats the pattern tomorrow. And the next day etc.
These things where I have to learn a new engineering language (and I'm an engineer) and then spend an hour telling it what it's going to do in every hour of every day, varying a little here, changing a little there, only to change my mind tomorrow as the weather changes, are strictly for the birds.
That's the kind of thermostat you get when you give a designer too big a budget, and he has to find something to do to fill up all that time.
For me, the biggest benefit of a smart thermostat is that I can adjust the temperature in the middle of the night without having to get out of bed, instead of having to get up and go downstairs, and wake myself up enough by doing so that I have a tougher time falling back asleep.
for women of a certain age, this is a very valuable function
A snowbirding friend told me that he's able to see how often his heater or AC comes on and how long it runs. He was able to check the settings after a power outage. All from a thousand miles away.
A snowbirding friend told me that he's able to see how often his heater or AC comes on and how long it runs. He was able to check the settings after a power outage. All from a thousand miles away.
I can see some benefit.
If he's 1000 miles away for the season, what does it matter? I'd just have someone check the house occasionally, for many reasons other than HVAC settings.
A snowbirding friend told me that he's able to see how often his heater or AC comes on and how long it runs. He was able to check the settings after a power outage. All from a thousand miles away.
I can see some benefit.
That may be a convenience, but not likely a deal maker or breaker that increases a home value.
I have yet to find the benefit of a "smart" thermostat, aside from its making its designers richer because nobody can find a simple one any more.
I'd be perfectly happy with a thermostat that keeps the temperature I set for a certain number of hours, and then shuts off the furnace/AC.
If I want something "fancy", it would be one that turns on the furnace or AC at a certain time, then turns them off at a certain later time.
And if I want one REALLY fancy, it would be a thermostat that does what I just said above... and then repeats the pattern tomorrow. And the next day etc.
These things where I have to learn a new engineering language (and I'm an engineer) and then spend an hour telling it what it's going to do in every hour of every day, varying a little here, changing a little there, only to change my mind tomorrow as the weather changes, are strictly for the birds.
That's the kind of thermostat you get when you give a designer too big a budget, and he has to find something to do to fill up all that time.
You're making it sound way more complicated than it is. It works like a regular thermostat, but you can control it from your phone. It's not at all complicated to use. I won't argue that increases a home's value, but it's a nice convenience for the reasons others have already stated.
A snowbirding friend told me that he's able to see how often his heater or AC comes on and how long it runs. He was able to check the settings after a power outage. All from a thousand miles away.
I can see some benefit.
Yup.
Or, our Nest thermostat knows when we're away for an extended period and goes into Eco mode. So we can go away for a week in the middle of winter and have the temperature in the house at a low setting. Then, a couple of hours before we get home, the app on my phone enables me to turn the heat back on so it's comfortable when we return.
In my book that's worth having.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
