Programmable Thermostats

Different programmable thermostats offer many different features. Because they are electronic, they are all more accurate and efficient than thermostats that contain mercury. With programmable thermostats you can control the temperature in your home at different times of the day without ever touching your thermostat. Because everything is automatic, you will never forget to change the setting on your own.

Obviously the time of year becomes a big factor for desired temperature settings. In the summer months the average temperature setting may be 78°-80°, in the winter 70°-72° seems to be the most common setting. Remember, when leaving your house, try to avoid drastic temperature changes. Do not set your temperature back more than 10°. The larger the make up temperature is, the harder your unit will have to work to achieve the desired temperature setting.

You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% for 8 hours. For example, if you would normally have your thermostat set at 70 degrees in the winter, lowering it by 10% would be setting it to 63 degrees. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic set back programmable thermostat.

Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, you don't operate the equipment as much when you are asleep or when the house or part of the house is not occupied. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings (six or more temperature settings a day) that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.

Generally, as with anything, this depends on how it is used. A rule of thumb is the more you set the thermostat to adjust the temperature above or below your standard setting the more you save. Adjusting the temperature just a couple of degrees while you’re sleeping will save you money alone but if your home is unoccupied during the day then the savings can be substantial. You can expect a basic programmable thermostat to pay for itself within the first year under the best circumstances and easily within two to three years in circumstances where the adjustments are minimal.

It is most efficient to find the temperature setting that feels most comfortable to you and leave the thermostat set there. A programmable thermostat allows you to set the desired temperature based on the time of day or your daily activities. As an example, if you are at work from 8 AM to 5 PM, you could set the thermostat to 84 degrees during those hours. If you want the house cooled down by the time you get home, program the thermostat to cool the house approximately one hour before you usually arrive home. Remember, a programmable thermostat may cost a little more that a standard thermostat but it can save you money all year long, in all seasons.