Florida’s warm climate makes it a popular place for a vacation home. Whether you’re a snowbird visiting every winter or cashing in on your 2nd home investment via Airbnb, keeping an eye on your property while you’re not there can be a challenge.
How do you know if the A/C has gone out in your vacation home if you’re hundreds of miles away? In the humid Florida climate, it doesn’t take long for damaging mold, which thrives in warm temperatures, to set in when a house isn’t properly cooled.
Luckily with the advent of smart internet connected devices all you need is a smartphone and a smart thermostat to connect with your property while you’re not there.
Air Tech of Central Florida sells the Nest smart thermostat, and we’re often asked to install it in vacation homes in order for homeowners to have more control over their property when they’re out of state.
Being internet-connected to a key system in your house means you have the information to quickly act if something doesn’t look right with the temperature of your home away from home.
Read on to learn more about smart thermostat technology and how you can use it to reduce costs and stay informed no matter where you are.
Stay In The Know With A Smart Thermostat & Your Phone
Smart thermostats that can be controlled via your phone are a relatively new home convenience and one that is catching on fast. The Nest Learning Thermostat was first introduced in 2011, and since then has become one of the most popular brands due to its ease of use and energy saving ability.
Over 40 million homes will have smart thermostats by 2020. (Greentech Media)
One of the key challenges with owning a vacation home is knowing if something is wrong that needs to be addressed. While you can have someone check in on it once in a while, if something happens in between those check-ins it could mean costly repairs that could’ve been avoided if you’d only known about an issue sooner.
Installing a smart thermostat in your home means you’re only a click away from vital information, like home temperature and energy use statistics, and you can remotely control your vacation home’s temperature if it’s getting too hot or too cold.
How can you gain more insight and control over your property while you may be several states away? Here’s how a smart thermostat can help you do that.
Program Temperature Schedules
Do you have a house sitter come by to water plants once a week? You can easily make it more comfortable for them by programming a schedule that cools your home during the time they’re there.
You can program in automated temperature settings easily and know that your vacation home is optimized for both energy efficiency and commonsense temperatures, such as those cool enough to ward off mold and mildew (which thrive in 77 to 86 degrees F.).
Remotely Control Temperature
Is there is an unexpected heatwave hitting the town where your vacation home is located? You can simply open your smartphone app and adjust the temperature if needed, no worrying whether your home is going to get too hot while you’re away, possibly damaging interior furnishings. Then once the heatwave passes, you can easily reset the temperature back to normal settings.
Get Alerts if Something Is Amiss
A smart thermostat will proactively give you a heads up if something needs attention at your vacation home, which helps you stay on top of important maintenance and safety items.
You can also set a Safety Temperature, which is one your home shouldn’t go above or below. This is great for both northern homes to keep pipes from freezing as well as those in central Florida to keep them from getting too hot.
Alerts include:
- If your home goes above or below the Safety Temperature, and when it comes back within the safety zone
- If something is wrong with your furnace
- Reminder that it’s time to change the HVAC air filter
Energy Use Monitoring
Have you ever been hit with a larger than expected energy bill at your vacation home? You can stay in the know and see any excessive energy use trends right away with a smart thermostat.
The Nest phone app has energy history reports that give you insight on times of day that have a higher energy use, giving you the tools to adjust your thermostat as needed to lower energy costs.
Connect Other Smart Technology That Works Together
You can get a wider picture of what’s going on at your vacation home while you’re away by integrating other Nest technology that works with the thermostat.
For example, the Nest Protect smoke and Co2 detector can alert your smart thermostat if something dangerous is detected, and it can automatically send an alert and shut off forced air systems to prevent smoke from spreading through vents.
Learn More About Smart Thermostats Today!
Wondering what’s involved with a smart thermostat and what the controls look like? Air Tech of Central Florida can give you a free preview and answer all your questions. Stay connected to your home while you’re away and get better insight into energy use so you can reduce it.
Schedule a free consultation online or call our friendly technicians at (407) 901-2777.
Author Bio:
Luigi Ferraro
Specializing in residential and commercial HVAC services, Air Tech offers a wide range of solutions to meet the heating and cooling needs of their customers. Their team of skilled technicians is trained to handle the installation, repair, and maintenance of HVAC systems with expertise and precision.
The post How A Smart Thermostat Can Help You Keep An Eye On Your Vacation Home appeared first on Air Tech of Centra Florida.