Introduction to Smart Thermostats

Ever since the 1600s, when the first primitive cooling system was invented, we’ve been designing ways to make them work better. Once the ability to control heating and cooling was implemented, the thermostat came into existence about a thousand years later. Today’s modern systems, like those installed by Davis Air Conditioning and Heating, work together with smart thermostats to regulate temperatures and save energy by improving efficiency.

Fashioned from the Greek words thermos (heat) and stat (stationary), the first thermostats used mercury until the electric model was introduced in the 1800s. The 1980s introduced us to the digital age of thermostats that were easier to read and understand and operated more efficiently than their predecessors. The early 2000s welcomed the introduction of programmable devices, and today’s smart thermostats let us control our cooling and heating systems to work in the best possible way.

Winter and summer can bring extreme temperatures, and smart thermostats can help keep them under control indoors without taxing the entire HVAC system. In the United States, 87% of households use a thermostat to control the heating of their homes, but only 37% are programmable. Of the 60% who use a thermostat to regulate cooling, only 29% are programmable. Smart thermostats are designed to take the headache out of setting temperatures. They also save time, money, and energy by remembering programs. View the infographic below to see a timeline of heating and cooling history and the evolution of the thermostat. When you’re ready to upgrade, install a smart thermostat and put your HVAC system to work to reduce cost and save energy.