PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A trend that’s caught fire is transforming residences into smart homes where a homeowner can control almost anything and everything in the building with a touch of a button and save some cash, too.
Folks looking to save money on fuel costs are turning to internet enabled thermostats that a homeowner can access remotely with a smartphone. This goes beyond a programmable thermostat and allows the homeowner to save even more money by fine tuning the thermostat over the internet when away from the house.
“When I go to buying shows, [smart products] are the biggest thing going,” said Scott Pinette, a salesman at Rathbun Lumber. “They’re really great for people that have camps and they’re traveling up from down state.”
Craig Green, of the Presque Isle Historical Society, said a smart thermostat as well as internet enabled cameras are installed at the Vera Estey House Museum to help control heat and security at the home.
Craig Green shows off an internet connected thermostat at the Presque Isle Historical Society’s Vera Estey House Museum on Aug. 31. (Joshua Archer)
“I can use my phone to get to the thermostat and turn up the heat before a tour of the museum,” Green said. “It even shows me the weather on the front screen.”
Local hardware stores such as Rathbun Lumber and S.W. Collins are able to order smart products to help get folks started on building a smarter home.
“If you have to work late, then you can get on your phone and tell your thermostat to stay cool for a while longer or vice versa if you’re getting out early you can start warming up your home,” said Randy Hitchcock, sales manager for S.W. Collins.
Prices for something like a smart thermostat can cost homeowners a couple hundred dollars, but companies such as Nest claim that its thermostats save homeowners between 12 percent and 15 percent on their heating and cooling bills on average each year. So the savings could cover the cost of the devices relatively quickly.
Smart thermostats from Honeywell boast that their products can even interact with services such as Amazon’s Alexa.
There also are a variety of smart home products on the market that go beyond controlling the thermostat.
“They’re even doing garage door openers and you can see if your doors are locked or even who’s ringing the doorbell. It’s the biggest thing going right now,” Pinette said.
