How to Choose a Smart Thermostat
Do You Even Need a Wifi Thermostat for Airbnb?
While a wifi thermostat can make you and your guests’ Airbnb experience a little more convenient, it isn’t absolutely essential. Your ratings aren’t going to be really low if you don’t have the latest, greatest wifi thermostat.
You can use signs and helpful tips to make sure that your guests are mindful of the temperature they’ve set. Alternatively, you can take the choice out of their hands altogether and remove the temperature controls from your rental space.
Also, if you don’t want to purchase a wifi thermostat, there are plenty of great options that don’t require wifi. Just make sure to look around before you commit to purchasing a wifi thermostat, as they can sometimes be difficult to install.
Quick Tips
In a hurry? Here are some quick tips to help you choose a wifi thermostat for your rental.
- To avoid high energy bills, choose a thermostat with temperature limits and energy reporting.
- A room sensing thermostat can adjust the temperature when no one is home.
- Remote access gives you complete control over your rental’s temperature.
- If you already have a smart home system, verify that the thermostat you’re choosing can connect to it.
- Expect to pay between $150 and $250 for a thermostat with every convenience feature.
Wifi Thermostat Features and Options
Wifi thermostats are becoming increasingly popular, and the result is a host of new, exciting features. Here, we’ll highlight some of the options you can choose when you’re shopping for a wifi thermostat for your rental property.
Temperature Limits
For most Airbnb hosts, this is the most important feature to look for. A temperature limit setting allows you to program your thermostat so that the temperature can’t be set too low or too high.
Limiting the temperature in your rental can save you money in the long run. It prevents guests from setting it to the lowest air conditioning setting or the highest heat setting. Unfortunately, there are guests who take advantage of having their own thermostat. If they aren’t paying the bill, then why shouldn’t they set it as low as they can? The bill will only fall to you.
By setting temperature limits on your thermostat, you can prevent high heating and cooling bills. Make sure that you set comfortable limits, however, as it can affect your feedback.
Voice Recognition
Voice recognition allows your guests the convenience of telling the thermostat what temperature they want. They won’t have to get up to change it when they want to adjust the temperature.
To most of your guests, this feature will probably be a novelty. Including a thermostat with voice recognition in your rental could increase your ratings and boost positive feedback.
Smart Home Compatible
Smart homes are on the rise, and there are a ton of different smart home systems and devices available for you to use. The right wifi thermostat can tie right into your smart home system. This opens up a whole range of features including voice recognition, Alexa and Google Home pairing, and even some of the advanced features we’ll discuss below.
Energy Reporting
A thermostat with energy reporting will keep track of the energy that your heating and cooling system uses. You can then generate a report about your energy usage.
If you don’t want to end up with a huge electric bill, this can actually be a pretty good way to keep track of your usage. Since heating and cooling often need the most energy, analyzing this data can help you come up with a plan to save energy.
Room Sensor
Each thermostat that has this type of technology uses it a little differently. For the most part, this means that the thermostat uses sensors that you’ll have to install throughout your home. The thermostat will connect to these sensors and keep track of where your guests are in the house.
In its most basic form, the sensors will detect movement and turn the heating or cooling on. When there is no movement detected, the heating and cooling will either shut off or adjust to a higher or lower temperature. This depends mostly on your settings.
Touchscreen
A touchscreen opens a whole new world of programming possibilities for a thermostat. It isn’t strictly necessary, of course. Some thermostats connect to an app or have all the controls you need as switches and dials.
However, a touchscreen is going to give your thermostat a nice modern look and feel. Your guest will likely appreciate this, and going the extra mile to include a thermostat with a touchscreen could improve your ratings.
Power Extender
A power extender is another important feature to consider when you’re choosing a wifi thermostat. Some of the newest and most technologically-advanced thermostats need additional wiring. Some of them won’t fit into a regular home’s wiring scheme.
If you have an older home or property, choosing a wifi thermostat with a power extender gives you the option to wire it into your existing framework. A power extender is essentially an extra cable, harness, or wiring fixture that allows you to install an advanced thermostat in your home.
Auto Learning Features
Some of the most advanced thermostats on our list have auto-learning features. These thermostats will learn your schedules and keep track of when you raise or lower the temperature. Over time, they will start doing these things automatically to keep up with your schedule.
It’s extremely convenient, and can also help with your guests. If you want to keep it a little warmer during the day while people are likely to be out doing things, an auto-learning thermostat will catch on and automatically adjust the temperature.
Remote Access
Do you live far from your rental property? If that’s the case, you can’t always keep track of the thermostat.
That can change with a wifi thermostat that has remote access capabilities. You’ll be able to change the temperature via an app on your phone, and you may even get alerts when the temperature is adjusted above a certain level.
How Often Do You Have Guests?
It’s a good idea to consider how often your rental is going to be used. Some thermostats sense movement and turn on and off or adjust the temperature as needed. If you don’t have guests every day, it’s probably a good idea to choose a thermostat that has room sensing technology. A voice recognition thermostat will also come in handy here.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of guests, consider a thermostat with temperature limits and remote access. This will allow you to keep tabs on how the thermostat is being used across a variety of different guests and their schedules.
How Much Do You Want to Pay?
How much you’ll pay for a wifi thermostat is based in large part on the features that you want. For a basic thermostat with minimal features, you can expect to pay up to $120.
In the mid-range, wifi thermostats go for between $150 and $180.
More expensive and advanced thermostats could run you up to $250 or more, so determine the features you want before committing to a price.
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