How Eco-Mode Works on Smart Thermostats

You’ve gotten a new smart thermostat and are excited by all the new features, but you may be confused when a little leaf or the word “away” appears on it. This signifies “eco-mode.” What is eco-mode, and how does it work in smart thermostats?

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Thermostats have come a long way since the 1620 egg incubator that sparked the idea. Over the centuries, inventors have tried to find ways to regulate room temperature. Companies have advanced this technology to better regulate home and business temps and give customers more control over regulating them. 

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Technological advances have created eco-mode smart thermostats that can sense when you’re in a room and adjust the temperature to save money. 

How Eco-Mode Works

A heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system takes energy to operate. Keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer costs more, as the desired temperature difference is more significant. 

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Eco-modes help save money and energy by catering to customers' preferred temperatures in one area and adjusting to conserve power when no one is around. This works by combining different device settings and your smartphone location to tell if you are on the premises. 

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For example, a customer keeps their home at 70℉ during a cold 30-degree day. It can take a lot of energy and cost money to stay at the desired temperature, but decreasing it to 50℉ when the person goes to work can result in significant savings throughout the day. 

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It can be hard to remember to manually turn down a thermostat any time you won’t be around, especially on particularly hot or cold days when you don’t want to be in the house during the temperature change. 

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How to Control Eco-Mode 

Since smart thermostats work as part of the Internet of Things (IoT), users can control them over the internet on a smartphone or browser. By going into their smart thermostat’s app, they can choose if and when the thermostat goes into eco-mode. Users can set the temperature and specific periods it should be enabled. 

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The latest thermostat models utilize their sensors to detect when someone is in a room. They can go automatically into eco-mode in certain areas and remain at the preferred temperature in the customer's space. 

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Eco-mode may not be as valuable for families with members or pets staying home throughout the day, as too hot or cold temperatures are uncomfortable and can cause serious issues for children, the elderly and animals.

Importance of Regulating Temperature

It’s essential to regulate your home’s temperature, and while it would save energy just to turn your HVAC system off when you’re not around, that could be harmful to your home and devices. 

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Research shows that electric car batteries take almost 40% longer to charge when in temperatures around 32℉ than around 70℉. Temps over 86℉ also affect EV performance. 

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Temperatures over 82℉ can affect computer performance, and going under 32 F can freeze pipes, causing catastrophic results that can damage your home long term. 

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Eco-mode is a good compromise between having a preferred temperature and saving energy and money. 

Investing in a Smart Thermostat With Eco-Mode

Proper use of a smart thermostat with eco-mode can save users around $180 a year, making them a worthwhile investment for your wallet and the environment. There are different models of smart thermostats with various price levels. 

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The two biggest smart thermostat companies are Nest and Ecobee. Nest’s eco-mode feature is intuitive, allowing for automatic and manual implementation. You can also have the thermostat automatically go into eco-mode when Nest goes into “away” mode. 

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Ecobee takes pride in its presence-sensing technology, claiming that its thermostats save customers up to 26% of their HVAC costs with the ability to know where occupants are and aren’t within the home.

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Other smart thermostat brands include Amazon, Honeywell and Sensibo. 

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Choosing one of these home thermostats can save energy, cost less and create a more comfortable environment for you and your family.

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