People are buying smart thermostats, and installing them on their own – Gearbrain

Smart thermostats are on the shopping list for nearly 15 percent of U.S. households that have broadband connections in the next 12 months devices that not only keep your home warm, or cool, but can be controlled through a smartphone, hub or other Wi-Fi connected device like a smart speaker.

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The data about smart thermostats comes from Parks Associates, a research group that follows and tracks the adoption and usage of smart home products in U.S. broadband homes.

Smart thermostats can be controlled through other smart devices Getty Images/iStockphoto

Smart thermostats may be a popular addition to a living space, but as an added feature they can be complicated to install, far more difficult than a smart speaker that just needs to connect to your Wi-Fi and into an electrical socket. Putting in a smart thermostat requires handling electrical wiring, often breaking into walls, or at the least removing an existing thermostat a process that many people have never encountered in their lives.

Still, more than one-third of people have plans to install a smart thermostat on their own, handling the details like a C-wire, the common wire, which makes sure that power continuously flows to the smart thermostat. Knowing whether you have a C-wire among the slew of wires behind an existing thermostat can also be confusing.

Smart thermostats connect over W-Fi and not only control the hearing and cooling in a home, but can be scheduled at certain times, turned on automatically or frankly whenever you want. Being able to manage when a house is heated or cool not only adds toHn the comfort of the way someone lives but can certainly also save people money, heating and cooling at optimal times.

Smart thermostat's like those from Honeywell can help home owners save moneyGearBrain

The majority of people who are buying smart thermostats, according to Parks Associates data, still do want some professional advice, with 67 percent choosing to buy these products at a store. Further, 18 percent of those buyers will also opt-in to have the retailer install the smart thermostat as well.

However, a quarter of people will instead turn to a home security company to install a smart thermostat likely as part of a full service offering.

"Smart energy solutions deliver immediate value propositions in cost and energy savings, so smart thermostats have long been a leading device in the smart home ecosystem, although growth in adoption has stagnated recently," said Chris O'Dell, research analyst for Parks Associates, in a statement.

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People are buying smart thermostats, and installing them on their own - Gearbrain