Heating and Cooling play a very important role to ensure the comfort of building occupiers. We know that a thermostat is required to regulate temperature in a room.
As technology has developed we have seen the emergence of thermostats with remote sensors. And this is because over the years consumers have demanded for a more accurate measure of temperature in varying spaces. In a race to achieve these, manufacturers have adopted the use of remote sensors which then communicate with the thermostat.
Of course it is difficult and inaccurate to measure temperature of a room that is diverse in shape and form using only one single sensor.
The use of more than one sentence spread across the room mathematically and scientifically will give a better integrated measurement.
The remote sensors can be mounted on different locations in a room and then report back to the centralized thermostat their measurements. Thereafter the measurements are integrated to tell the overall temperature of a room.
Search vendors who have been in the race to meet this new customer requirement include Ecobee, Honeywell and Nest.
A thermostat with a remote sensor guarantees that you have control and ownership of your space. It gives you the advantage to harness energy efficiency of your heating and cooling appliances.
Ecobee has a smart thermostat with remote sensors. Additionally, this remote sensor is equipped with a presence detector sensor. Effectively this combination helps to track your movement and hence the thermostat can estimate and control the temperature of the location where you are present.
Resideo Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat with Remote Sensors
This well-engineered product delivers great performance because it comes with remote temperature sensors as well as humidity and presence sensors.
The Honeywell Home T9 is second to none in this category of smart thermostats with remote sensors.
The Ecobee comes close with the capability of measuring temperature and sensing proximity but lacks the humidity feature.
Also in this category is the nest smart thermostat, however, it can only measure temperature – no humidity or presence detection.
The power of this thermostat is capitalized through the use of smartphone apps which are very friendly and intelligent in the same breath. I mean you can find the historical data and trends that can influence how you utilize your cooling and heating devices.
Some of the apps will give you tips on how to attain energy efficiency in your home.
Pros
- It uses multiple sensors to control your HVAC – temperature, humidity and proximity.
- The sensors have a good enough range of 250 ft
- The proximity or presence sensor differentiates between people who are passing through a room vis a vis people who are continually occupying a room.
- The proximity or presence sensor differentiates between people who are passing through a room vis a vis people who are continually occupying a room.
- The installation is simple and you can DIY
- The smart thermostat is supported by Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana, Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Honeywell Home or Ring apps, Samsung SmartThings
- All these enables you to operate it remotely as well as setup conditions such as geo-fencing for your HVAC. Additional features such as the use of voice commands to control your devices are made possible.
- If you do not want your thermostat to average the temperatures in all the rooms, T9 allows you to choose a specific room or sensor to be the focus or determinant sensor in your heating or cooling.
- It stirs up to six programmable settings that can be selected in a day.
- The batteries last long and can be found easily.
Cons
- You cannot use the sensor with electric baseboard heater.
See thermostat for best hot water electric baseboard heater.
Why Do I Need to Upgrade to Remote Temperature Sensors?
Majority of rooms at home no eating do not do maintain the same amount of temperature – for example, The baby’s room and the kitchen they have different temperatures.
Maybe your bed is colder then the living room. alternatively the primary thermostat may be kept in a room where you do not spend much of your time.
Where Do I Install a Remote Sensor?
First of all choose a room where you spend most of your time.
Secondly consider a location on the wall preferably equal to your chest height.
Remember to factor in the distance between the sensor and the primary thermostat. The distance should be within the range which communication between the two can be established. For instance, the Honeywell T9 thermostat works well for upto a distance of 200 ft. while the nest thermostat and remote sensor has a recommended distance of 50 ft.
FAQ
What is a Remote Sensor for Thermostat?
A remote sensor Is kept in a room or a space far from the primary thermostat where are you like to measure temperature and in some cases the humidity or presence of persons.
The readings are then sent to the Central thermostat which then uses the readings to put the heating or cooling on or off depending on the settings that you desire for that space.
It communicates either through hardwired or wireless connection.
Does Nest thermostat have remote sensors?
Yes. The Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E – Smart Home support remote sensors.
However, a majority of thermostats with remote sensors are sold with one sensor. You have to buy the rest of the remote sensors for all the areas that you require focused heating or cooling.
Please note that the 2nd Generation Nest Learning Thermostats do not support remote sensors.
How do smart thermostat remote sensors work?
The remote sensors act to gather by measuring conditions such as room temperature humidity or presence of human beings in a room.
They relay this information back to the primary thermostat which depending on the settings, will either average the temperature or consider a very specific sensor that then determine how your are heating and cooling will be done.
You can have one primary smart thermostat patient let’s say at the living room and several other sensors set up in the other rooms. For example the bedrooms, the hallway, the kitchen the garage etc.
Can a thermostat be controlled remotely?
Yes. It is possible to control a thermostat remotely. key to note however is that the thermostat must be able to connect to the internet if you’re to control it from outside your home. for this case you will require an application in your mobile phone that is compatible and capable of allowing you to command your smart thermostat.
On the other hand a thermostat is that is connected to a home network, for example z-wave or smart things can be remotely controlled in the vicinity of the wireless signals. you may not require internet but you need to be in the range of the devices wireless network.
Hence the key determinant is the capability of your thermostat. a majority of them support remote control, whether from inside your home or outside your home.
Conclusion
In the US as well as the EU it is estimated that 50% of the energy is used in space heating and air conditioning. in the you for example it is estimated that cooling of spaces will continue to account for my energy usage almost 70%.
The statistics serve to show you that thermal energy contributes a huge amount to the cost of electricity or other energy sources. hence the use of thermostats to control the heating and cooling of your home may contribute significantly to energy savings which in return translate into cash savings.
when you look at it beyond your home there is an added advantage in an era where global warming and the environment has become very important.
The return on investment for smart thermostat with remote sensors may not be immediate and you will need to have a long-term mindset while considering the product.
A thermostat with remote temperature and presence sensor helps to concentrate comfort where it matters most – and that is where you are.