One of the reasons people aren’t able to routinely save money on their energy bills is because they don’t know how much energy they’re using. By having an accurate and simple way to track your energy usage, it’s easier than ever to save. Not only can you take full control over your heating and cooling usage, but you can see energy monitoring reports that can help you make decisions when setting a heating and cooling schedule for your home.

Smart thermostats are an accurate way of tracking your energy use. By using scheduling features, you can maintain an automated temperature control schedule to help save money while you’re not home. You can also see your heating and cooling habits throughout the year to be able to accurately predict your future energy bills, which can also help you plan to save more money down the road. These energy reports may also give you tips on how to save money and be more efficient in your energy usage.

Depending on the weather outside, your home will either need to heat up or cool down. If you live in a place like the midwest of America where you may need to switch between heating and cooling multiple times in the same week, it can really catch you by surprise. Some smart thermostats have the ability to track the weather and adjust the temperature of your home according to fluctuating outside temperatures. With automated weather tracking, your home will always be comfortable no matter what it feels like outside.

As mentioned earlier with smart learning technology, your smart thermostat needs to be able to accurately learn your habits. Some of these smart thermostats have movement sensors, so they can tell when you or your family are home. These room sensors can sense when nobody is home for long stretches of time so it can help save you money and set a better energy usage schedule.

Smart devices are becoming more and more popular these days. Many people have several smart device platforms and applications throughout their home, and oftentimes they can all link up with one another. This means your thermostat can communicate with other electronics in your house to enhance their smart learning abilities or to better track energy usage around the house.

How nice would it be to be able to change the temperature of your home without even moving a finger? Sometimes it’s too cold and you’re stuck under a blanket and don’t want to get up. Using smart speaker devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, you can just speak your wish into existence. “Alexa, raise the temperature to 72 degrees” can be all it takes.

Coming home from work early? You can change the air temperature of your entire home from your phone, whether you’re at home already or not. Start to cool your home down before you even leave the office by simply using an app on your smartphone. You can also turn the air off to help save money once you’ve left the house.

While your smart thermostat may have sensors and learning abilities, sometimes it’s nice to have control of your own schedule. Using app-based scheduling, you can have full control of when your home is using heating and cooling without having to stand at the thermostat and press a bunch of buttons trying to figure out what you’re doing. These apps are simple to use and can be used outside of the house when you’re on the go.

If you set the maximum temperature of your home to 72 degrees, but receive an alert from your smart device that the indoor temperature has climbed to 80+ degrees, it’s very likely that your air conditioner is experiencing some kind of problem. Some smart thermostats not only will tell you when less than ideal temperatures have been reached, but have the capability of diagnosing why the issue occurred in the first place. Finding out what the problem is with your HVAC system can be costly, so having a device that will alert you right away what the problem is and when it occurs can save you time and money.

The Bryant Evolution Connex Control thermostat is a wifi-enabled control system that’s also very user-friendly. Gain complete home control over your humidity, ventilation and zoning, and of course heating and cooling. Control your home using its touchscreen features or through its wifi-enabled remote access.

The Ecobee thermostats use smart learning capabilities to adapt the comfort of your home to your schedule. This is an energy star-certified smart thermostat with Alexa built-in to utilize voice control. Ecobee thermostats give you control of your home remotely through IOS or Android.

Nest is a Google product that not only uses smart capabilities to control the comfort of your home but can synchronize with all Google smart devices around the house. Nest uses voice control and remote access to make scheduling your heating and cooling a breeze. Nest also makes energy reporting readily available and simple to understand.

Some energy companies are currently offering rebates for their customers that use smart thermostats. Not only will you be saving money through more efficient energy usage, but these companies will give you money back to make buying your new smart thermostat even more affordable.

Ameren Missouri is offering a $50 sign-up bonus for anybody using a qualifying smart thermostat that registers for their Peak Time Savings Program.  Visit the Ameren Missouri Online Store or your local retailer to purchase a qualifying thermostat.

Spire is offering users a $25 rebate for installing a qualified smart thermostat. Learn more about how to earn your rebate and how to apply on Spire’s website.