It's safe to say that thermostats have come a long way since this type of thermostat first appeared on the market. Today, a thermostat is more than just a thermostat. they are smart They have abilities that at one point seemed impossible. And that's a good thing, because today's homeowner wants more than just temperature control from his smart thermostat. As smart technology evolves, consumers will demand more.
Current status of the smart thermostat market
Energy efficiency, connectivity, convenience, sustainability, and a desire to reduce carbon emissions are all factors driving the demand for smart thermostats today.
“Additionally, government incentives and regulations aimed at promoting energy-efficient technologies are further increasing the demand for smart thermostats,” said Tom Lorenz, Sensi platform director at Copeland. “This surge in demand signals a broader societal shift towards sustainability and technology-enabled living, and is shaping the future of home climate control.”
Resideo has experienced slow growth in the smart thermostat sector over the years, but starting in 2022, the company will begin to see a real increase in the adoption of smart thermostats. This is in part because homeowners are using more smart devices.
“Several things are working together: there is a growing understanding and awareness of smart products in the home, and the functionality of smart thermostats to help people save on energy and utility bills,” says Resideo Product Manager. Marissa Cocaman said. “This was a good combination to expand the adoption of smart his thermostats more broadly.”
There is now a market for most types of smart thermostats, whether they are basic Wi-Fi models or models that can be integrated throughout your home. Every consumer has a variety of different needs, and what those needs are will determine which type of thermostat is right for them.
“What experts and builders recommend will depend on the needs of the homeowner. Whether the homeowner has a very basic system or something like a heat pump, dual fuel, humidifier or air exchanger, etc. and complex solutions that include accessories,” said Adam Welton, Senior Director of Channel Marketing. Ecobee.
Lorenz said most homeowners are interested in a basic Wi-Fi thermostat that allows them to remotely control their home's temperature and save on energy bills.
Some homeowners want a very simple and easy-to-understand thermostat that is energy efficient and has a remote control. Some homeowners are very interested in smart home options and want to integrate multiple devices and set up a myriad of different automations.
“It could skew even more towards early adopters or people who are seriously focused on smart homes or potentially setting up more complex and complicated systems,” Kocaman said. “And you'll see a lot of different things…it depends on both the needs of the home and the needs of the homeowner. Certainly, larger homes have more complex systems and may require more sophisticated thermostats. there is.”
At its core, Lombardi said, homeowners want something that is convenient and meets their daily needs.
“You can adjust the temperature by facing the wall, or by using your phone or voice. Save energy;” said Serge Lombardi, Nest Enterprise Strategic Partnerships Lead.
Important features
Homeowners may have a variety of different needs, but most want the same important things from a smart thermostat: energy and cost savings, integration/connectivity, and ease of use. Modern thermostats can meet these needs with the ability to capture data from sensors into the system.
A recent Copeland Wi-Fi Thermostat Market Study conducted in December 2023 found that the most important feature for homeowners with smart thermostats is cost savings through reduced heating and cooling costs . Ease of use was a close second.
“Homeowners are looking for things that will make their lives easier,” Lorenz says. “One example is the use of top-rated mobile apps, like Sensi Smart His Thermostat.”
Manufacturers have long learned what homeowners want from their smart thermostats. For example, the ecobee smart thermostat offers remote control through the ecobee app or one of its many integrations. This allows customers to set comfort settings and schedules on their thermostat or app, so they're always comfortable when they're at home and save energy when they're out. Additionally, Welton said his Eco+ features built into ecobee offer the benefit of helping customers save up to 26% on annual home heating and cooling costs compared to maintaining his 72°F. I did.
Complete home integration includes indoor air quality (IAQ) controls, IAQ alerts or reminders.
“A great example of this is that Resideo is equipped with several smart thermostats that can control IAQ equipment such as humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and ventilators,” Kocaman said. “Being able to control everything from one device simplifies control and is a huge benefit for homeowners.”
Resideo's newest thermostat, the Honeywell Home T10+, can wirelessly connect up to 20 indoor sensors.
“Data from these sensors can be used to prioritize how the home is heated or cooled to optimize comfort in different rooms, without zoning,” Kocaman says.
Additionally, some smart thermostats can provide alerts and reminders, such as when to change your filter or humidifier pad.
“These types of reminders help homeowners simplify the process of owning a home and maintaining their HVAC systems,” Kokaman says.
The ability to connect and interact with your HVAC system from anywhere is a key value that smart thermostats have and is generally desired by homeowners.
“Device compatibility with different systems and system types is also becoming increasingly important,” Lombardi said. “With the electrification of the United States, more and more consumers and their HVAC contractors will use heat pumps. These days, regulating the health and performance of the HVAC system itself is a growing demand for consumers. It is becoming clearer.”
That's where features like Nest HVAC Monitoring play a key role in providing homeowners with more insight into the performance and health of their systems.
“Homeowners can now receive notifications about heating and cooling deterioration or failures, and from there, they can seek diagnosis and service from a local skilled Nest Pro,” Lombardi said.
One of the standout features that today's smart thermostats offer is remote temperature sensing.
“Another notable feature with the increasing adoption of heat pumps is the use of outdoor temperatures. Thermostats intelligently use balance point settings to maximize the efficiency of heat pump systems while minimizing supplemental heat. It helps ensure personalized comfort and maximizes energy efficiency,” says Lorenz. For Copeland, this is made possible by his Sensi dual-fuel logic, a proprietary algorithm that tracks and monitors system performance and determines the ideal time to transition to a gas furnace.
The future of smart thermostats
Looking to the future, manufacturers expect smart thermostats to further advance the control they already provide.
“We believe we can do more with fewer devices and add more value to the ecobee experience,” Welton said. “When we launched our new smart doorbell camera, we also launched the Live View feature, which means customers can now see the live feed from their doorbell directly on their Smart Thermostat Premium screen. We also launched the new keypad We've also launched an integration that allows customers to activate or deactivate their home directly on their smart thermostat, turn on automatic sirens, and turn it into an all-in-one home monitoring hub.''
Smart thermostats also offer more analytical capabilities based on the data the thermostat collects.
“Voice control is starting to become more popular, which means more products are becoming compatible,” Kocaman said. “We are already starting to see this phenomenon in the smart home world. In the smart home world, we have more and more smart devices, all of which are integrated into smart home systems. Thermostats are one of the Because the thermostat controls comfort, and for most people, it's the most important part. ”
Smart technology will continue to evolve and become increasingly intelligent, intuitive and integrated, Lorenx added.
“Copeland envisions advancements for smart thermostats, including enhanced predictive capabilities, seamless integration with renewable energy sources, and interoperability with emerging technologies such as AI-driven automation.”
Evolution of thermostats
In 1620, the first thermostat was invented by Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor who was looking for a way to reliably control the temperature inside a chicken incubator. And while Drebbel had one specific need for this thermostat, it started the thermostat market that consumers know today.
Nearly 200 years later, in 1830, Scottish chemist Andrew Ure patented a bimetallic thermostat for use in keeping steam boilers warm, but the invention never caught on. That was until Warren Johnson, founder of Johnson Controls, took it a step further. He invented a bimetallic thermostat that actively rings a bell when it's time to adjust the furnace damper. In 1885, Johnson filed the first multi-zone patent for his thermostatic control system and made thermostat history.
That same year, inventor Albert Butts filed a patent for the first electric automatic thermostat, the “damper flapper.” Damper His flapper regulates the furnace heat by lifting the furnace damper with a pulley system when the indoor temperature gets too low. This damper flapper consists of three components: thermostat, battery, and motor. This invention served as a precursor to the modern thermostat and established the technology that became the foundation of the automatic control industry. Butz obtained patents and founded Butz Thermoelectric Regulator Company, which he later became Honeywell International Inc.
In 1906, after Honeywell founder Mark Honeywell purchased Butts' patents and company, Honeywell introduced homeowners to the Jewel, the first programmable thermostat. It has a built-in clock that can turn down the heating at night and automatically adjust to the set temperature in the morning.
More than 100 years later, the thermostat market has undergone perhaps its greatest adaptation since 1906. Stuart Lombard, founder of ecobee, has returned to his home in 50°C temperatures after a winter vacation with his family. Lombard had set a personal goal to reduce her environmental impact by making changes in her daily life. One of his changes included programming the thermostat to conserve energy. At the time, his iPhone was just starting to become popular around the world, and his smart home technology didn't exist. Things changed in 2008 when ecobee introduced the world's first Wi-Fi connected smart thermostat.
Since then, the demand for smart thermostats and their features has increased significantly, especially in recent years.
“Since then, Ecobee has released new models every few years and now has millions of customers across North America,” said Adam Welton, senior director of channel marketing for ecobee.
The main selling point of ecobee's first smart thermostat was the ability to control the thermostat remotely through an app, saving you money on your utility bills. Shortly after, in 2011, Google Nest released the Nest Learning Thermostat.
Since then, smart thermostats have continued to evolve and new connectivity features have been introduced.
“We continue to provide the remote control and energy-saving features our customers want, but now they can monitor air quality, use smart assistants, and set or disable home security. We also offer a wide range of features, from smart thermostats,” Welton said.