Programmable thermostats let you set your home temperature according to your schedule. Smart thermostats learn your habits over time and adjust to them automatically. What if your schedule is more erratic, though? What if the times when you’ll be home are different from day to day? In that case, you might consider thermostat geofencing.
What Is Geofencing?
A geofence uses GPS to place a virtual border around a particular area. An app on your smartphone can then tell whenever you enter or exit that border and trigger a particular response.
In the case of HVAC, the geofence is around your house. Anytime you enter the geofenced area, your smartphone sends a signal to your thermostat to adjust to your preferred comfort setting. Whenever you leave the geofenced area, it signals your thermostat to revert to an energy-saving setting, a few degrees cooler in winter or warmer in summer.
To use geofencing, make sure the app for your thermostat is installed on everyone’s phones. Have them turned on and Wi-Fi-enabled, and make sure your GPS settings are as accurate as possible.
The Benefits of Geofencing
Particularly if your schedule changes all the time or if different members of your household tend to come and go at different times, thermostat geofencing can help you save energy. It can be difficult to remember to readjust the thermostat whenever you leave the house. Geofencing can automatically sense whether you’re home or not so you’re not paying to heat or cool an empty house.
For families with zoning systems, the geofenced areas can be made even smaller, with borders around each zone. That way, your HVAC system can sense when, say, everyone’s in the living room watching TV and only send air to that zone.
The border can also be made larger and placed a mile or two outside your house. You would cross the threshold a few minutes before you reach home, and by the time you get there, it’s just reaching your ideal comfort level.
To learn more about thermostat geofencing, contact us at Arpi’s Industries. We provide Calgary with top home-comfort solutions.
