If you are turning your own house into a smart home or if you already live in one, you can consider adding a smart thermostat to your smart home hub.
And while you are at it, we recommend you have a look at the smart thermostat from the house of one of the popular manufacturers of smart home-connected devices, Alarm.com.
- Brand: Alarm.com
- Power source: Battery
- Controller type:L Amazon Alexa, Vera
- Connectivity: WiFi
Since the cooling and heating units are one of the most energy consumers of our homes, adding smart thermostats to your smart home hub is a smart idea to go with.
Alarm.com has become a trusted name for maintaining the security of American homes since it was founded in 2000 as an integrated part of MicroStrategy‘s research and development unit. Now with its smart thermostat, it aims to increase your comfort and decrease energy costs.
The alarm.com’s smart thermostat integrates your HVAC system with other energy-consuming fixtures at your home and controls the AC or the heating unit accordingly. With an alarm.com account, you can easily control the thermostat through your Android/iOS device.
As we already are aware, the concept of a smart thermostat is not new and there are plenty of them on the market. So what makes alarm.com different from these? This article briefs the unique features of Alarm.com’s smart thermostat which makes it a unique piece of technology.
Overview Of The Things that make Alarm Smart Thermostat Worth Buying
Design that adds style to the walls
Alarm.com’s smart thermostat has a square shape with a plain white body which gives it an elegant look when placed on any wall. It weighs around 1.15 pounds (without batteries) and hence can be carried around anywhere. The front panel consists of three push buttons and an LCD display. The three pushbuttons are the up, down, and mode buttons. The up-down buttons help to navigate the menu or adjust the set temperature. The mode button is placed to select the required mode of running.
The minimalistic design helps in the easy understanding and operation of the thermostat. The LCD display is backlit and hence can be read at any time of the day. It shows the room temperature by default along with icons that represent the mode in which the thermostat is running. Once the up/down button is pressed the screen lights up for a few seconds and the current set temperature is shown.
Compatibility with multiple sensors
Alarm.com can fully be integrated with the home’s security system. This thermostat is compatible with a wide range of sensors and hence gets more information about the outside and inside weather than a standalone smart thermostat. This aids it to make an informed and smart decision so as to provide a perfect balance of energy-saving and comfort.
You can integrate them with the motion sensors or the window/door sensors. This way whenever the thermostat gets a signal that a window/door is open, it automatically sets itself to auto mode.
Likewise, it changes the set temperature automatically by assessing the outdoor temperature to give an economic yet comfortable ambiance to your room. With the integrated geo-services, this little smart piece of technology automatically sets to an economic mode of operation when you leave the house.
Easily accessible from anywhere
The Alarm smart thermostat can be remotely controlled from your android/iOS device from anywhere. The application is easy to navigate and use. You can control all the operations of the thermostat with a click on your phone. The app has a good rating in the Google Store and is compatible with other devices such as Blackberry, Windows, Pebble, Kindle Fire, Apple Watch, etc. The PC version of the app is also available with the same control features as the mobile version.
You can choose from the three temperature presets namely home, away, and sleep according to your preference. Even if you forget to choose the temperature preset, the thermostat would set them for you, thanks to its connectivity with the motion sensors of your home.
Listens to voice assistants
Love Alexa? This smart thermostat is compatible with Alexa and other voice assistants. This means you can command your voice assistant to set your schedule from anywhere.
Easily integrates with Alarm.com security hub
The ADCT2000 can fully integrate with the alarm security hub. Not only does it work with alarm.com’s security systems, but it also can integrate with other Z wave devices. It makes it more reliable as it can work with Z-wave door locks and motion sensors.
Protects from potential CO2 and smoke hazard
Since the thermostat integrates with the security system, it can detect any CO2 leaks or smoke when connected to a CO2 and smoke detector. Once it gets detected, the thermostat automatically shuts down your HVAC system to stop the airflow. This way any potential hazard can be waived.
Therefore, this thermostat not only controls your HVAC system but it works alongside your smart security panels, doors, windows, locks, and smoke detectors.
Smart savings
Once installed, you can save quite a lot with this thermostat, without much of a manual effort. One of the examples is that the thermostat adjusts the temperature automatically when it senses an open door/window. It might take time to understand and get in sync with its operation, but once done you will be amazed at the amount of savings.
Alarm.com is recognized with most of the demand response programs. These programs are designed to encourage judicial use of energy by offering customers some discount for using less amount of electricity. Therefore, when you save on energy consumption, you might be eligible for a discount on the electricity bill.
Compatibility with HVAC systems
The ADTC2000 is designed to work with 24 VAC HVAC systems and hence cannot be installed for 120 or 240 volts. Also check if your HVAC system has wire nuts or is labeled as high voltage, if so you cannot use this thermostat.
An HVAC system with more than 1 Ampere relay load cannot be paired with the Alarm smart thermostat.
Installation and Power Source
ADTC2000 is easy to install and needs only some basic tools and previous experience working with home wiring. The instructions have been given quite clearly in the installation manual to guide you through the process.
The thermostat works fine with two wires, red and white, and should be powered by a set of 4 AA alkaline batteries or a listed class 2 power supply at 24 VAC (C-Wire or wall transformer).
The Bottom Line
Alarm.com’s smart thermostat is not only a futuristic-looking temperature-controlling unit but also integrates as a key part of your smart security system. With its smart features which monitor both the inner and outer weather conditions when integrated into your smart home hub, it can make intelligent decisions more smartly than other smart thermostats of its cadre.
If you wish to program it the old-school way, it allows manual operation too. The only downside is that you will need to invest monthly if you want access to the alarm.com services.
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