To maximize your energy savings this upcoming winter you should use your programmable thermostat wisely. If you simply set and forget your thermostat, you are missing out on many opportunities to save energy and money. If you do not yet have a programmable thermostat, you should know that upgrading can save you up to 30 percent on your energy costs each month.
Programmable thermostats allow you to save energy by turning your HVAC system back while you are away from your home and then turning back on shortly before you return. This lets you conserve the most energy possible without having to sacrifice comfort. Most people are able to save the most money during the day by turning their thermostat down (during winter) or up (during summer) by 10-15 percent for eight hours.
Most thermostats separate the day into four different time periods for you to program: morning, daytime, evening and night. Morning and evening are when most people tend to be home so you should set it to your ideal temperature during these hours. You can set your thermostat back about 4 degrees while you sleep at night without it being noticeable. In most homes, it’s best not to exceed a 4 degree temperature swing between different time periods in the thermostats schedule. Otherwise, your equipment begins consuming so much more energy while reverting the temperature back to the desired set-point that it begins eating into the savings you just gained with the setback.
You can set a different schedule for each day of the week or keep it the same. By customizing your schedule for each day, you are able to save the most money possible. The only time you have to worry about making any change is if something comes up that will keep you out of the house for longer than usual. To make sure your system doesn’t come on earlier than usual, you can use the temporary hold feature to override the upcoming programmed period and make a quick one-time change. The thermostat will then revert back to its normal schedule when it reaches the next time period in its program.
To learn more about the benefits of programmable thermostats and how to use them most efficiently, contact Aladdin Heating & Coolingtoday. We proudly serve the Southeast Michigan area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about reducing energy costs and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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