Smart thermostat, what should I do with it?

A thermostat is a device with a thermometer that measures the ambient temperature. The user sets what this ambient temperature should be. The thermostat then regulates that that temperature is reached by turning the heating on or off.

Simple thermostats can do no more than that. More advanced variants are programmable per hour and per day. For example, the user can set that the heating may be lower at the end of the evening. (Totally off is nowadays not recommended because heating the house again in the morning takes more energy than lowering the temperature to, for example, 15 degrees.)

If you make the thermostat smart, then the device can be operated via the internet. This requires a special app that works on a tablet or smartphone. Naturally, such a thermostat can also be operated in the usual way. If you don’t use a tablet or smartphone, a smart thermostat doesn’t help much.

Finally, there are smart thermostats that can be linked to voice assistants such as the Google Assistant. The extra convenience is that you can say to such an assistant, for example, ‘turn up the heating a degree’.

But why make everything that has a button smart? A thermostat should keep the room temperature comfortable, no further nonsense is needed. Still, a smart thermostat is handy. For example, if you suddenly realize that the heating is still on while no one is home. With the app you can also switch off the heating remotely. With the current gas prices, this is not a superfluous luxury.

There are even smart thermostats that are self-learning. That is, they adjust the settings based on your weekly rhythm. Google’s Nest thermostat, for example, knows when you’re not home. Or more precisely: when the paired smartphone is outdoors. Based on this, Nest draws up a heating schedule.

A radiator knob can also be smart. Anyone who places a smart button on each radiator can operate it via an app. And in this way regulate the temperature in the living room and bedroom separately. Handy to bring the cold bedroom to the ideal temperature (about 18 degrees) before going to sleep.

A smart thermostat is different from a smart meter. Most houses nowadays have a meter in the meter cupboard on which the energy consumption can be read. A smart meter sends the consumption directly to the supplier. The user can request the consumption at any time via the website of the energy company and via an app. Handy, because this way you can see how much consumption is per month. Often there is a comparison with the consumption of the previous year. This way you can see whether you are using more or less and what the average is for your type of home. Moreover, you no longer have to provide the meter readings once a year.

Smart devices store data, so also a smart thermostat. This is where privacy comes into play. Although each manufacturer promises to store the data securely and not to use it for other purposes, the user can never be sure how the personal data will be handled. The privacy laws that manufacturers must adhere to are strict. Yet Google, for example, does not have a good reputation in that area. Other manufacturers have less interest in collecting personal data.

In addition, hackers could also be interested in your usage. This allows you to find out when you are home or not. Read more about the use and risks on the site of the central government.