Traditional thermostats don’t know it’s broke ‘til it’s broke. Smart thermostats, on the other hand, can detect a potential problem through intelligent preventive maintenance offerings: alerts and notifications that tell the customer and homeowner when it’s time for service, monitoring capabilities that allow the HVAC contractor to diagnose a problem remotely. There are also a number of benefits for the consumer’s bottom line, like geofencing, energy efficiency, and utility rebates. All of these can be great selling points for contractors — as long as techs can explain the ins and outs of utility rebates like demand-response programs.