With summertime in full swing, you may be one of the many Americans who struggling to stay cool while keeping the air conditioning bill manageable. ABC News has recently reported that the average American household spend about $400 between June and August just on air conditioning a home, and lowering the temperature by just one degree can cost a whopping $24 more.
Fortunately, new advances in technology are making it easier than ever to save money on energy costs. The company Thinkeco is offering an AC kit which can be directly connected to the homeowner’s smartphone, making it possible for homeowners to adjust AC levels in their house no matter where they are. Whether you’re curled up in bed and too tired to get up or you just left for a week-long vacation at the beach, you have the ability to remotely control the temperature of your home.
This product by Thinkeco certainly isn’t the only one of its kind; another “smart” thermostat called Nest has been on the market for some time and has helped many homeowners save money by featuring automatic temperature-adjusting settings. But the biggest draw to Thinkeco’s temperature-control kit is the cost: it is available online for $140, while products like Nest can be over $100 more expensive(Nest lists its thermostat online for $249). Regardless of which product a homeowner chooses, smart thermostats are likely to pay for themselves within a few years, and then keep saving money for years after that; however, many homeowners may be hesitant to buy one of these thermostat kits simply because they can’t afford the upfront cost. Thinkeco’s product is revolutionary because of its affordability.
Many energy companies are jumping on the bandwagon and giving customers the opportunity to use smart AC kits, but products like Thinkeco’s thermostat may be more appealing because they are add-on kits and can attach to any AC unit that has already been installed. Smart thermostats may not be absolutely essential to running your home, but you’ll want to keep these gadgets on your radar as they grow in popularity and develop new ways to save you money.