A Smart Thermostat + The Home App = Custom Home Comfort
Learn how smart HVAC technology leads to convenience, comfort, and energy savings.
By Anne Fonda
Have you ever gotten a high energy bill because you forgot to adjust the temperature before you left for summer vacation or a winter holiday? Let’s face it. Cooling or heating an empty house to your normal comfort level is a waste of money and energy.
American Standard’s digital solutions help you prevent these mistakes and enhance your comfort while you’re home, and control even when you’re away. Our technology connects you with your HVAC system from anywhere, at any time.
This enables you to save money on energy costs, monitor your energy usage, optimize your comfort, and even allow your dealer to troubleshoot your system remotely.
In this blog, you’ll learn about:
Ready? Let’s get started.
It starts with an American Standard smart thermostat
If you’re asking, “What is a smart thermostat?” you’re in the right place. Smart thermostats connect to your home’s wireless network, which is why they’re also sometimes known as Wi-Fi thermostats.
A smart thermostat at its baseline is a programmable thermostat. But the additional smart tech features can bring convenience, custom comfort, reduced energy savings, and cost savings. A smart thermostat is a smart choice if you’re considering thermostat replacement or getting a new energy-efficient HVAC system.
Energy-saving thermostats
They use temperature sensors and humidity sensors to provide enhanced home comfort. Advanced smart thermostat technology can learn your habits and temperature preferences. It can then create a heating and cooling schedule based on when you are home, sleeping, or away.
By adjusting the temperature down or up while you’re away (based on the season), you can save money on your energy bills. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), adjusting the temperature by 7-10 degrees for 8 hours a day can save you up to 10% on your heating and cooling bills.
You can save even more if you have an HVAC zoning system where a system of HVAC dampers directs conditioned air to only the rooms where it’s needed, rather than the whole house.
We warranty our smart thermostats for 5-10 years under the registered warranty. The warranty covers internal functioning parts. Compare that to the 1-3 warranty some of the big-name brands offer. We stand behind our smart thermostats just like we stand behind our HVAC equipment.
To optimize your comfort and experience, and control your HVAC system from anywhere, simply download the American Standard Home App to your smartphone.
Get it on Google Play® or Download on the App Store.
The Home App integrates with our smart thermostats for convenient control and connected comfort. You can use your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or PC to make changes from anywhere. When using your laptop or PC, you’ll go to the American Standard Home web portal.
Whether you’re embarking on a cross-country road trip or you’re sitting in your recliner watching the big game, the Home App lets you change the temperature, set the vacation schedule, and more.
After linking Google Home or the Amazon Alexa device to American Standard Home, voice control of your thermostat is easy. If your phone isn’t handy but your voice assistant is, simply say, “Alexa, adjust the temperature (up or down) by 3 degrees.” This feature can be especially helpful if you left your phone in the other room.
Enter Allergy Clean/Quick Clean cycles to clean the air and enhance your indoor air quality (IAQ). Or keep it on auto to run whenever the system fan is on.
You can also control your whole-house ventilation system from the app or thermostat interface. Replace stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air. Remove pollutants and reduce odors at the same time for enhanced IAQ.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends a humidity level between 30% and 50% for your comfort and to avoid the issues associated with high humidity or low humidity.
Your air conditioner or heat pump will naturally dehumidify during the cooling process, but you can also control your whole-house humidifier or dehumidifier from the app or your thermostat. If you have a whole-house humidifier, you may get reminders of when to change the humidifier pad as well.
Never forget to change the air filter again
Regular air filter replacement is critical to the health of your HVAC system. Clogged filters can cause serious issues, including a system shutdown. Your smart thermostat will display a notification, and the app will notify you as well when it’s time to change the HVAC air filter. Think about subscribing to a regular filter delivery service so that you always have an air filter on hand.
“Smart thermostats paired with an intuitive app fundamentally change how homeowners interact with their HVAC systems. Not only does this technology deliver greater energy efficiency and cost savings, but it also empowers users to take control of their comfort from anywhere—at home or on the go.”
-Caitlin Butler, Product Manager, Thermostats and Home App
Our smart thermostats also have geofencing capability (you can set this up by following these instructions Geofence: Location-Based Automations – American Standard Home. Once the thermostat recognizes that you have left home, it can automatically adjust the temperature to the Away settings. It will also automatically adjust the temperature when you re-enter the geofencing area.
If you have an American Standard Gold 824, Platinum 850, or Platinum 1050 smart thermostat and you’re using temperature and humidity sensors in a zoned system, you also have access to a feature called RoomIQ™.
Room IQ™ can average the readings from the various sensors to keep a consistent temperature throughout your home, eliminating hot and cold spots. You can also use automations to change the temperature; for example, in your bedroom every night before you go to bed, for an optimal night’s sleep.
Upgradable software
You can maintain a high level of cybersecurity and data protection with automatic software updates on the thermostat (as long as it is connected to American Standard Home). You can also manually update the software. Update the Home App to the latest version whenever you’re prompted for the best experience.
“Features like geofencing, remote diagnostics, and air quality management work seamlessly together to provide customized comfort, peace of mind, and healthier indoor environments. It’s about transforming ordinary homes into truly connected, efficient living spaces.”
-Caitlin Butler, Product Manager, Thermostats and Home App
All of our smart thermostats come with American Standard Diagnostics compatibility. You opt in once via the Home app and give your American Standard HVAC dealer remote monitoring access. Your thermostat transmits usage, scheduling, and system health information to your dealer. They can see what is going on with your system at any given time.
Your dealer will get alerts for routine HVAC system maintenance and equipment malfunctions. With your permission, they can run troubleshooting tests remotely to try and diagnose the issue. Remote diagnostics means you can get HVAC troubleshooting support before you even notice a problem.
Dealer remote access
If your dealer thinks they can solve a problem remotely, without scheduling an in-person HVAC service call, they will request one-time dealer remote access (DRA) to your HVAC system. This request will come through the Home App. This is separate from your opt-in to American Standard Diagnostics.
If you would like to avoid an on-site HVAC service call and the disruption to your home and schedule, you simply grant access via the app. Once the remote service call is complete, your dealer ends the remote access session.
If they need to schedule an on-site service call to replace a part, they’ll do that. The HVAC technician will arrive with the knowledge of what’s wrong and have the correct parts because of the information gained during DRA. This can save both you and the dealer time and money.
System alerts via the Home App
If you have opted into HVAC Diagnostics, you may also receive a system alert on your phone for critical error codes. A critical error code indicates that one or more primary components (e.g., heat pump, air conditioner, furnace, air handler) of the system are inoperative. Critical errors require immediate attention from an HVAC technician.
After opting into American Standard Diagnostics, ensure alerts for your thermostat(s) are selected for each contact who should receive them. You must do this from the American Standard Home web portal, and you can find the instructions here: Setting and Managing Alerts - Managing Contacts and Alerts.
If you already have an American Standard smart thermostat, download our Home App to take control. It’s easy, intuitive, and convenient. Don’t have one of our smart thermostats, but you love the idea of the benefits of our connected comfort solutions? Reach out to your American Standard dealer today to set up a consultation.
Content Writer, Trane Technologies
A Content Writer with Trane Technologies, Anne Fonda researches topics and writes for Trane® and associated residential HVAC brands. She works in collaboration with Trane Technologies subject matter experts, offering easy-to-understand, informative content on complex topics. Her goal is to help consumers make informed decisions on the products and services they need.
She has written for HVAC and other service provider websites for over 16 years. Before transitioning to web content writing, Anne had a 14-year stint as an award-winning journalist. She graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.
When she’s not working, Anne enjoys playing word games, reading, gardening, spending time with family, and visiting gardens and museums.
Expert review by Caitlin Butler, Product Manager, Thermostats and Home App
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