I bought a $200 'smart' thermostat that promised huge energy savings, but my bill barely moved
I installed it in my Chicago apartment last winter, thinking it would cut my gas heating costs. The app showed fancy graphs, but after three months, my bill only dropped about $5 a month. On one side, maybe my old furnace is just inefficient and no thermostat can fix that. On the other, I feel like the product's claims were way overblown for a typical older building. Has anyone else seen real savings from these, or did I just waste my cash?
Yeah, that part about the claims being overblown for an older building hits home. My last place had these drafty windows and the smart thermostat just kept trying to fix a problem it couldn't. It felt like it was fighting a losing battle, cranking the heat up and down while all the warm air just leaked out. You might be right that the furnace itself is the bigger issue.