What Are the Benefits of Smartphone-Controlled HVAC Systems?

Been thinking about getting a smartphone-controlled HVAC system? Perhaps you're weighing the benefits before you commit. After all, the technology can seem somewhat expensive when you know the HVAC system will work OK without it.

Nevertheless there are some well-known benefits of a smartphone HVAC system. Have a look and maybe we can nudge you a little closer to taking the plunge. 

1. The smartphone HVAC is convenient. A smart AC or heating system allows you to change settings and check the status of your HVAC. Usage analytics help you to manage energy consumption more efficiently. You can also keep your home more comfortable through the smartphone. Clouds or sun, stormy or calm, you can adjust the temperature as needed through the app.

2. Smart apps are compatible with other technology in the home. A smart HVAC system can communicate with the voice-activated systems you've added in your home, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Home. This is a great way to streamline home automation so that it's free of hassles.

3. Smart technology helps you run your HVAC system more efficiently. You can set an energy-efficient schedule that helps you cut back on energy use and save money. Set a schedule to run the AC or heating a few degrees warmer or cooler in summer or winter, whenever the household occupants are away or sleeping. Turn on more cooling or heating when the family is up and moving around.

Best Smart Thermostats

There are lots of smartphone HVAC systems out there, but here are some smart thermostats you might want to consider:

1. Ecobee. Eco-Bee 4, the fourth-generation model of smart thermostat, is much improved in features and functionality over the original model.

2.     Nexia. Nexia has been around since 2008. It is an all-in-one solution for a smart home and controls garage door, lighting, security, HVAC, appliances, and more.

3.     Nest. Nest comes in two options that connect to the Nest app, either of which allows you to control indoor temperature from near or far.

For more on smartphone HVAC, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow. 

What Are the Pros and Cons of a High Voltage Smart Thermostat?

High voltage smart thermostats can regulate high voltage heating systems and connect to Wi-Fi networks and compatible mobile apps. High voltage thermostats, also known as line thermostats, are typically used with baseboard heaters, forced fan heaters and convectors, and radiant ceiling heaters. Here's more on what these devices have to offer.

How High Voltage Thermostats Work

High voltage thermostats convert your home's incoming current (240v or 120v) into usable heat. Under the hood, they're normally bigger in size than thermostats with low voltage. That's because they have a heat sink due to the active current that passes through them. The current keeps the electronics powered without needing a battery.

On the other hand, thermostats with low voltage run via power stealing. This process allows the thermostats to operate on small batteries and sap little amounts of power from your main line to recharge.

The drawback of high voltage systems is that you'll need at least one high voltage smart thermostat for every room or every heater.

How to Know If Your System Uses a Low Voltage or High Voltage Thermostat

You can know if your heating system uses a high or low voltage thermostat by looking at the wires. With a low voltage thermostat, you'll see a setup with many small and thin multicolored wires leading up to a board. For high voltage thermostats, you'll see between two to four thick wires separated into black and white or black and red groups. For help with identifying these setups, you can talk to an HVAC specialist.

If you use a high voltage heating system, a high voltage smart thermostat will give you many benefits besides being compatible with your system. Its features offer convenience and energy savings. For more information on high voltage smart thermostats, contact the heating and cooling professionals at Air Assurance. Since 1985, we've proudly served the home-comfort needs of residents in the Broken Arrow area.

What Apps Are the Most Popular for Controlling Your HVAC System?

HVAC apps make it easy to keep your home comfortable no matter what northeastern Oklahoma's weather throws at you. There are dozens of apps out there, but a few have earned exceptional reputations.

Nest

Developed for the popular Nest smart thermostat and home-security products, this app lets you set heating and cooling schedules, adjust temperatures and fan settings, select your target temperature, review your energy use, and receive alerts when temperatures in your home are too high or too low. The app also warns you when your system's performance is faltering so you can look into the issue before it gets serious. If you use several Nest devices, this app lets you manage them all in one place.

Ecobee

Another one of the best-known HVAC apps, this software works with Ecobee's line of thermostats and other smart-home devices. Not only can you schedule and adjust temperatures with it, you can control your lighting too. It alerts you when your indoor temperature or humidity level is out of your preferred range, and it offers several humidity-control options that make this app ideal if you struggle with dry or damp air. The filter-change and maintenance reminders are also helpful.

Nexia

The Nexia smart home automation app is compatible with Trane and American Standard HVAC equipment and controls far more than just your heating and cooling. It uses open-source Z-Wave technology to communicate with all your Nexia-compatible devices. Program, control, and monitor your thermostat temperatures and fan speed through a user-friendly interface. Nexia also includes a sophisticated diagnostics system few other HVAC apps can match. Nexia can be connected with your HVAC service technician, and when something goes wrong, the app can search for issues and relay information to your service tech.

Other trusted HVAC apps include Tado, which works with most HVAC systems, and AirPatrol, designed for infrared remote control ACs and heat pumps.

For tips on which of these HVAC apps is right for your home, contact us at Air Assurance from anywhere in Broken Arrow.

Celebrate High-Tech Month with These HVAC Products

Why not add some HVAC products embedded with high-technology to honor the month of January. They’ll bring a new level of function to your home that will be as useful as it is interesting.

Wi-Fi and Smart Thermostats

By their nature, thermostats that you can control from anywhere have to be among the smartest products to use in your home to control its energy use. These thermostats let you monitor your home from anywhere you can get a Wi-Fi signal.Some thermostats track room occupancy to adjust the temperatures. Others have features that tell you when the unit needs servicing or when a part is malfunctioning. Overall, smart and Wi-Fi thermostats save considerable amounts of energy for people who aren’t home 24/7 or travel a lot. They’re also useful to control temperatures remotely.

Air Purifiers

Considering the high volume of air that you breathe daily, installing a central air purifier will clean the air and reduce the symptoms of allergies or asthma. You can choose from UV (ultraviolet) air purifiers and the advanced systems that eradicate the pollutants in the air without using filtration.

Air Quality Monitors

If you’re not sure you need an air purifier, start smaller with an air quality monitor. If your garage is attached and someone in your home has a hobby that uses chemicals, an air purifier will alert you when the air isn’t necessarily safe to breathe. Harmful but all too common airborne chemicals include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause a variety of complaints and serious illnesses will show up on the monitor, as well as. Other dangerous gases include carbon monoxide and dioxide and radon.

Advanced Heat Pumps

If you need a new heating and cooling system, consider an advanced heat pump with variable-speed operation. These kinds save tremendous energy and ensure your comfort using high-tech sensors to monitor indoor and outdoor temperatures and adjust their running speeds accordingly.

If you’d like more information about any of these HVAC products and others, talk to a pro at Air Assurance, providing HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, call us at 918-217-8273.

Smart HVAC Systems: What You Should Know

In your busy life, the temperature and comfort level of your home is just one more thing to worry about. How high or low is your thermostat set? Is it heating or cooling your home adequately? Are you sending air to a bunch of empty rooms? And how much energy is all of this costing?Fortunately, there's a way to deal with all of these issues automatically. It's called a smart HVAC system, and it can make your home comfortable without your having to think about it. Here are some features that can help make an HVAC system smart.

• Thermostat. A smart thermostat does more than just read and program the temperature. It measures both temperature and humidity, and can even tell how many people are in a room. The more people, the more heat they generate. Whereas if there's no one in a particular room, it doesn't need air at that moment. Either way, a smart thermostat can adjust accordingly.

• Air and ventilation. Once the thermostat determines each room's comfort needs, the ventilation system sends the appropriate amount of air. If one room is too cold, air can be diverted from that area and sent to another section that's still too hot. This is standard for zoning systems. But a smart system can also tell if any one zone is using more energy than it should. Maybe a vent is blocked, causing the system to work harder to cool that room. Maybe someone adjusted their zone's thermostat significantly lower than the others. A smart HVAC system can detect these things and let you know what's going on.

• Compressor and air handler. These are the two HVAC features that use the most energy. Therefore, a smart system monitors their use and makes sure they run only when they're needed. Additionally, it can adjust their use based on time, monitoring usage during peak hours to reduce energy consumption both for you and your community.

To learn more about how a smart HVAC system can benefit your home, contact us at Air Assurance. We're Broken Arrow's trusted source for quality HVAC solutions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Ramdlon/Pixabay”