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Smart Thermostats









Technology was caught up with heating and cooling thermostats. With more and more Internet based devices
coming out, tech savvy people can utilize this technology to save money. Since the heating and cooling of a home
makes up the majority of the utility costs, it makes sense to keep a tight rein on how long and often it cycles off and
on.

The thermostat has evolved somewhat over the years from simple manual controlled units with a mercury switch to
programmable ones that gave people the ability to have their air conditioning or furnace temperatures set back
during the night or at work to the newest version that can be controlled through the Internet. Programmable
thermostats may not benefit everyone, for example if someone is at home all day it may not make sense to have
automatic set back feature. But depending on the lifestyle of the household, having greater control may prove to
provide significant savings.

One problem with standard programmable thermostats is that your household may have an unpredictable schedule
with people coming and going and leaves programming the thermostat useless. The new Internet controlled
thermostats, or “smart thermostats” are controlled through a wireless gateway connected to the home’s Internet
connection and transmits signals to the wall mounted thermostat to lower and raise temperatures and even switch
between heating and cooling modes. This allows you to remotely control the thermostat through any Internet
connection from anywhere, even with Internet enabled phones and PDAs. Most of these have the ability to control up
to four different thermostats so if you lived in a two story home for instance, you could turn on the air conditioning to
your upstairs office before you get there and leave the downstairs set back.

Not all electric providers have the service, but may in the future. TXU is offering these at a low price if you join their
energy conservation program. For more information, you can visit their website at:
https://www.txupartners.com/thermostat/programdetails/index.php
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