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Find out how smart thermostats can help you save on heating and cooling costs, plus read about four ways these devices are making life easier around the house.

<p>Smart thermostats have definitely become an exciting feature in our homes. All too often, the temperature in your home is too cold or hot when you walk through the door. Understandable, as you don&rsquo;t want to leave your unit running all day when you&rsquo;re not there. That&rsquo;s just wasted heating and cooling costs that could have gone to more exciting features (like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/residential-solutions/home-audio" target="_blank">smart speakers</a><span>&nbsp;or&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/residential-solutions/home-theater" target="_blank">installing a home theater</a><span>).</span></p>
<p>However, there&rsquo;s a lot more that goes into your smart thermostat outside of reaching the goldilocks temperature for your home. The benefits of smart thermostats are optimal for a variety of reasons, and we&rsquo;d like to outline how they can help you control your environment while saving you money.</p>
<h2>Reduces Energy Usage and Costs</h2>
<p><img alt="a close up shot of a smart thermostat" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q1_2022/CI_Ways-Smart-Thermostats-Save-Money_1.jpg" width="500" /></p>
<p>We definitely enjoy coming home to a toasty warm house in the winter, and refreshingly cool temperatures in the summer, but what exactly is that costing you?</p>
<p>With standard thermostats, your monthly energy bill can skyrocket if you keep your home at the ideal temperature all day long. Trying to fight extreme heat or cold will increase your overall energy usage, which contributes to a high power bill at the end of the month.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The best part of a smart thermostat is how it can control your home environment without you having to worry about a thing. Your smart thermostat is programmed to adjust automatically when you&rsquo;re not home, so your HVAC system won&rsquo;t run unnecessarily. This way, the air conditioning and heat don&rsquo;t go to waste when you&rsquo;re not there.</p>
<p>Smart thermostats are designed to <a href="https://www.redfin.com/blog/how-to-reduce-carbon-footprint-at-home/" target="_blank">provide consumers energy savings</a> anywhere between 10%-20%, depending on how diligent you are with your temperature settings. The smarter you are about programing your unit, the more energy-efficient your thermostat will be.</p>
<h2>Sends Energy Reports to Your Smartphone</h2>
<p>A great way to control your thermostat is by seeing your energy consumption is through your smartphone. All you have to do is download the mobile app compatible with your unit, depending on whether or not you have a device such as a Nest or EcoBee.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Once you have the mobile app, you&rsquo;ll be able to see your monthly energy consumption and monitor how often your thermostat runs. You can also get updates on what your projected energy bill could be for the month, based on how your energy has been used so far.</p>
<h2>Adjusts the Temperature (Before You Even Think About It)</h2>
<p>One of the worst things is walking around a humid house, just because you forgot to change the thermostat. A great benefit of programmable thermostats is how they sense movement and will make note of your daily patterns. It can sense when you&rsquo;re home and will change to your predetermined temperature before you need to touch the thermostat.</p>
<p>Your smart thermostat will also sense additional movement throughout your home and will drop accordingly to accommodate the growing number of people. Once they&rsquo;re gone, all you have to do is raise the temperature back up, and your smart thermostat will go back to it&rsquo;s regularly scheduled programming.</p>
<h2>Easy Remote Access</h2>
<p><img alt="a person looks at home automation controls on a smart phone" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_ci/Q1_2022/CI_Ways-Smart-Thermostats-Save-Money_4.jpg" width="500" /></p>
<p>Upgrading to a smart thermostat has another benefit: you can adjust your temperature from anywhere. The mobile app that lets you track your energy usage? Well, you can also change the temperature from your phone. If your phone is connected to wi-fi, you can make adjustments as needed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Whether you&rsquo;re coming back home from a long trip, or want to change the temperature before your kids get home from school, now you can, all from the same place. Its convenient features are similar to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/residential-solutions/lighting-control" target="_blank">automated lighting</a> and <a href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/residential-solutions/motorized-shades" target="_blank">shades for your smart home</a>,&nbsp;and still provide the same energy-saving results.</p>
<h2>Make Your Home a Smart Home with Carolina Custom Sound</h2>
<p align="center" style="text-align: left;">If you&rsquo;re interested in reducing your energy costs and making the most of your home, the benefits of smart thermostats speak for themselves. If you want to learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210125111449/https:/carolinacustomsound.com/getting-started-home-automation/" target="_blank">affordable home automation projects</a>&nbsp;such as smart thermostats in your home,&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210125111449/https:/carolinacustomsound.com/carolina-custom-sound-home-automation/" target="_blank">Carolina Custom Sound is the perfect home automation connection</a>. Located near Winston Salem, we focus on providing quality service, and home automation gadgets that can simplify your life.</p>


Benefits of Smart Thermostats: Four Ways to Stop Spending and Start Saving

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From lighting to locks, and cameras to plugs, you can use voice control with many of your favorite home devices. 

<p><img alt="A boy and his grandfather voice control a digital assistant in their living room" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_electronics/psm-voice-control.jpg" title="iStock Credit: mikkelwilliam" width="700" /></p>
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        <p class="avb-typography__paragraph dsg-block-26__paragraph">Voice control technology is something we’re very excited about at Carolina Custom Sound. Here’s a list of eight awesome home devices to use with your favorite voice control technology.</p>
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<h2>1. Lighting</h2>

<p>Light switches, light bulbs, dimmer switches, LED bulbs, and even LED light strips can all be bought in smart versions. No longer will you have to live life in the dark ages by getting up and walking <em>all</em> the way to the other side of the room to turn your lights on and off. And just think of the possibilities with voice-controlled patio string lights and decorations. You&rsquo;ve spent a lot of the last year cooped up inside; explore how you can voice-control the stylish aesthetic of your outdoor space!</p>
<p><img alt="Man controls his smart lighting with voice control " src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_electronics/psm-voice-control-mood.jpg" title="iStock Credit: gorodenkoff" width="700" /></p>
<h2>2. Plugs</h2>
<p>Have an appliance that you want to control with your voice, but can&rsquo;t find a voice-equipped model?</p>
<p>Grab a smart plug. This way, you can control power to said device with your voice, even if the device itself isn&rsquo;t able to work with your automation system. Of course, if you are worried about getting everything to work with your automation system or want to make sure you are setting everything up correctly, give us a call. We&rsquo;re always here to help with all your technology needs!</p>
<h2>3. Security Cameras</h2>
<p>Home safety is important, especially when you might be taking out-of-town vacations. Some people use this time of year as an excuse to find a weak spot in your home security system. It&rsquo;s always best to be safe rather than sorry, and voice-controlled smart cameras can integrate with the rest of your home security system and really help create a full-home security solution. With one, you can focus on unwinding your loved ones instead of worrying about what&rsquo;s going on at home.</p>
<h2>4. Door Locks</h2>
<p>On the topic of safety, smart cameras aren&rsquo;t the only way to up your security game this summer. Smart locks not only make your home safer, but they also integrate and work with your voice assistant. That&rsquo;s right &mdash; you&rsquo;ll be able to combine safety and voice control.</p>
<h2>5. Thermostats</h2>
<p>It&rsquo;s the time of the year when you&rsquo;re cooling your house yet snuggling under a light blanket at night. And there&rsquo;s nothing worse than having to get out from the comfort of your couch cocoon to adjust the temperature on the thermostat.</p>
<p>Changing the temperature in the house with just a simple voice command without leaving the couch is a great convivence, and it can really help the whole family deal with changing weather and temperatures this time of year.</p>
<p><img alt="Woman talks at wall-mounted smart thermostat controller" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_electronics/psm-smart-thermostat.jpg" title="iStock Credit: RossHelen" width="700" /></p>

<h2>6. TVs</h2>
<p>There&rsquo;s no better way to celebrate the summer than a brand-new, high-quality TV. 4K is hitting its stride &mdash; and you can even go further into the future with TV sets that offer voice control combability. Whether you are looking for a brand-new screen for your den or are looking to finally upgrade to a projector for your home theater, you can get it all in voice-controlled models.</p>
<h2>7. Sound System</h2>
<p>Summer and summer playlists go together like, well, lemonade and ice, pools and bathing suits, sand and sandals, and everything else warm-weather related! So, there&rsquo;s no reason that you can&rsquo;t also control your music with the same voice that you use to belt out the chorus to &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPEqRMVnZNU" target="_blank">Under the Boardwalk</a>&rdquo; by The Drifters each year.</p>
<h2>8. Vacuums</h2>

<p>Not all voice control applications need to be fun &mdash; some of them can be functional, too! Your home is bound to get dirty over the summer no matter how hard you try to keep things (or bare feet) tidy, so some voice-automated vacuums are sure to go a long way. They&rsquo;ll keep everything clean, no matter how many neighbor kids are tracking dirt in from the backyard.</p>
<p><img alt="Two cats warily observe a smart vacuum" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/blog_electronics/psm-robot-vacuum.jpg" title="iStock Credit: Anita_Bonita" width="700" /></p>
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        <p class="avb-typography__paragraph dsg-block-26__paragraph">Whatever your needs are this summer — be it voice controlled TVs for the kids or finally getting that smart home automation system installed — you can’t go wrong shopping local with us. Head over to our <avb-link data-href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/contacts" target="_blank" class="dsg-block-1-link">contact page </avb-link> or give us a call at <avb-link data-href="tel:>  </avb-link>. We’re here to help you integrate technology products into your life, and our commitment to you doesn’t ever go on vacation!</p>
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8 Home Devices You Won't Believe Work with Voice Control

Default Dev Script Validation

<avb-header-after>  <avb-designer-block data-id="27" class="avb-grid avb-typography dsg-block-27-header-after"> <div class="avb-grid__column avb-grid__column--small-12 dsg-block-27-no-padding"> <avb-link class="avb-wrapper dsg-block-27-header-after__content" data-href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/contacts#zoom">  <span class="dsg-block-27-header-after__headline"> Click here to schedule your virtual consultation&nbsp;today! <span class="dsg-block-27-header-after--cta"> <avb-link class="avb-button avb-button--primary dsg-block-27-header-after--button" data-href="https://www.carolinacustomsound.com/contacts#zoom">Schedule Now</avb-link></span> </span> </avb-link> </div> </avb-designer-block> </avb-header-after> <style> /* ==================== Header-after (block-27-header-after) ==================== */ .dsg-block-27-header-after{ z-index:998; } .dsg-block-27-header-after-home{ z-index:999; } .dsg-block-27-no-padding{ padding:0; } .dsg-block-27-header-after__content, .dsg-block-27-header-after__content:visited, .dsg-block-27-header-after__content:focus { display: block; background-color: #1f3060; color: #fff; text-align: center; padding: 1rem 0.55rem; } .dsg-block-27-header-after__content:hover { color:rgba(255,255,255,0.5); } .dsg-block-27-header-after__headline { display:inline-block; font-family: 'Roboto Condensed', sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 1.15rem; line-height: 1.3; transition: .3s; } .dsg-block-27-header-after--cta { display:inline-block; margin-left:1rem; margin-top:0.55rem; margin-bottom:0.55rem; } .dsg-block-27-header-after--button, .dsg-block-27-header-after--button:visited, .dsg-block-27-header-after--button:focus { display:inline; padding:0.5rem; font-size: 0.85rem; font-weight: 700; font-family: 'Roboto Condensed', sans-serif; color: #FFF; border-color:#fff; transition: background-color 300ms ease-out; border-radius: 10px; text-transform: uppercase; } .dsg-block-27-header-after--button:hover { color: #fff; background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.2); } @media screen and (min-width: 600px) { .dsg-block-27-header-after--cta { margin-left:1rem; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; } } @media screen and (min-width: 960px) {} @media screen and (min-width: 1280px) {} @media screen and (min-width: 1600px) {} </style>

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Benefits of Smart Thermostats: Four Ways to Stop Spending and Start Saving

Have You Explored These Garden-Transforming Smart Devices?

8 Home Devices You Won't Believe Work with Voice Control

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