If you’re still using a manual thermostat, you are missing out on the energy savings, convenience and home comfort that programmable thermostats offer. Discover how to use the many features and optimal thermostat settings to help save energy this season, and all year long.
Basics of programmable thermostats Programmable thermostats are available with an array of options. Four-event settings is standard, with many models offering six daily event (or temperature) changes. The primary difference between thermostats is the ability to change programs on a daily basis (with seven-day programmable thermostat settings) for busy households, as opposed to a programmable thermostat on the other end of the spectrum that offers one program for every day of the week. Thermostat settings for savings, convenience, and comfort Programmable thermostats afford you the luxury of awakening in the morning and arriving home from work to your preferred household temperature, while allowing you to lower energy consumption by not using the system as much when you don't need it. The fact that you are programming temperature changes allows you to take advantage of their automatic energy savings, too. Energy Savers reports that adjusting the temperature 10 to 15 degrees above your normal comfort setting (during the cooling season) for 8 hours each day saves approximately 10 percent cooling costs. This is a sample thermostat setting to achieve those savings:
Programmable thermostat features These are some of the nice features that make programming convenient:
For questions, contact Russell’s Heating & Cooling. We’ve proudly served Hampton Roads-area homeowners of southeast Virginia for more than 35 years. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Image courtesy of Shutterstock