(NAPSI)—Cool news for anyone who has ever wanted to remotely heat up the house at night on the way home after a long day at work or cool it down on the way home from a long vacation: You may soon be able to do just that.

Thanks to a new technology breakthrough, you can now go green with a new thermostat and mobile app that lets you adjust your thermostat settings even when you’re not home. And it’s just as easy as when you’re at home because the mobile app looks just like your thermostat screen.

What’s more, you also can check your home energy use from your mobile device and adjust the programming from virtually anywhere there is Internet or cellular access. You can even text family members at home by sending messages right to the thermostat screen.

Your thermostat also can act like a digital picture frame. You can easily upload photos of your kids, pets or vacations. You can run a single photo as a screen saver or up to 100 photos as a slide show. Your thermostat will even tell you when your system needs service. And when you are home, but it’s not convenient to get up to adjust the thermostat settings, you can do it from your smartphone or tablet.

Beyond adjusting your thermostat remotely for energy savings, here are more tips for conserving energy costs when you’re on the go.

• As the days get cooler, closing your curtains or blinds at dusk will help stop heat from escaping through windows. When the days get warmer, keeping the curtains or blinds closed in the morning will help keep out hot daytime sun.

• The most common household appliances—phone chargers, televisions, computer monitors and DVD players—use valuable energy even when turned off. Unplug them when you’re not home to reduce your energy use and your monthly bill.

• Clean or replace filters on furnaces and air conditioners once a month or as recommended.

• Consider a programmable thermostat with a mobile app so you can remotely control energy consumption from anywhere by using your smartphone or tablet.

For more tips and information about this new ColorTouch connected thermostat, visit Venstar at www.venstar.com.

 

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)