Intelligent automations powered by smart thermostats help homeowners save time, reduce energy waste, and stay comfortable during the hottest months of the year
The U.S. Energy Information Administration assumes a 3% increase in cooling degree days from June to September 2026, which results in 1,620 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity being generated in these months, a 3% increase from last summer. As temperatures rise and HVAC systems work harder, many homeowners are looking for ways to stay comfortable without driving up energy bills. Small thermostat adjustments, combined with intelligent smart home technology, can help make a meaningful difference in both comfort and cost throughout the summer months.
Today’s advanced devices and smart thermostats are designed to do far more than simply adjust temperature. Homeowners can move beyond manual adjustments and let their home respond automatically to daily routines, occupancy patterns, and environmental conditions while also gaining clear visibility into how their system is performing behind the scenes. On a typical summer day, that might mean temperatures scaling back after everyone leaves for work, cooling rooms before the first person returns home, or adjusting temperatures overnight while everyone’s asleep.
Here are five smart thermostat features homeowners should use this summer to help make everyday home comfort efficient, intuitive, and easy to manage.
- Schedule Temperatures Around Daily Routines
Smart scheduling can help homeowners align indoor temperatures with the rhythms of the day. The home’s system can automatically ease back while the house is empty, then return to comfortable settings before the first person walks through the door. In fact, homeowners can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning the thermostat back 7°-10°F for eight hours a day from its normal setting. That kind of consistency helps reduce unnecessary runtime while maintaining a predictable and comfortable indoor environment throughout the day.
- Enable Auto “Away” Mode When the House is Empty
Summer schedules rarely stay consistent. Whether running errands, heading to work, or spending the weekend away, it’s easy to forget to adjust the thermostat before leaving home.
With geofencing technology, apps can recognize when household members leave and automatically switch the home into an energy-saving “Away” mode. As occupants head home, the system can return to preferred comfort settings automatically so their space feels comfortable upon arrival.
Instead of relying on manual adjustments throughout the day, this type of automation helps reduce unnecessary cooling while making comfort feel effortless.
- Set Priorities for Room-by-Room Comfort
A cool bedroom at night, a comfortable home office during the workday, and balanced temperatures in living areas during the evening can make a home feel tailored to how it is actually used during the summer. Optional smart room sensors help make that possible by measuring temperatures in different parts of the home so comfort can follow where people spend their time throughout the day.
With that added visibility, systems can help prioritize comfort in the spaces that matter most rather than relying on a single thermostat reading from one location in the house. The result is a balanced, personalized comfort experience throughout the home, especially during periods of extreme heat.
- Use Energy Insights to Make Smart Cooling Adjustments
For many homeowners, energy use is largely invisible until their utility bill arrives. Smart thermostats can help bring that information to the forefront through daily runtime tracking and monthly energy reports.
According to ENERGY STAR, certified smart thermostats can help households save approximately 8% on heating and cooling bills, or $50 per year, while homes that are unoccupied for much of the day can save approximately $100 annually.
Some smart thermostats allow homeowners to view HVAC runtime insights by day, week, month, or year in an app, helping provide a clear picture of how many hours their system is operating for cooling.
That quick visibility helps homeowners make thermostat adjustments without waiting days to see the impact. Even small changes like raising the temperature a few degrees during peak afternoon hours can add to meaningful savings over the course of the summer.
- Use Vacation Settings for Extended Summer Travel
Summer often means long weekends, road trips, and family vacations, but there’s no reason to cool a home as if someone is still there.
Vacation settings help homeowners maintain efficient temperatures while away without needing to fully shut the system down. Instead of making manual adjustments before every trip, homeowners can set the thermostat to maintain an energy-conscious schedule until they return. It’s a simple way to reduce unnecessary cooling runtime while still helping restore comfort quickly once the vacation is over.
While each of these smart thermostat features deliver value on their own, their real impact comes from how they work together to help create a home that continuously adapts to routines, preferences, and changing summer conditions. And as smart home technology continues to evolve, this shift is making automation less about novelty and more about helping to remove friction from everyday life.
For the average household, nearly half of the energy used in the home goes to heating and cooling costs, making even small efficiency improvements meaningful during periods of peak summer demand.
By combining intelligent automation with real-time system visibility, connected smart thermostats help create a responsive, efficient, and personalized cooling experience throughout the summer months.
To learn more about how smart thermostat technology can help homeowners simplify home comfort while managing cooling costs, visit honeywellhome.com.
