Used properly, a programmable thermostat can provide you with one more valuable tactic in your overall strategy to improve the efficiency of your home. Convincing your family to resist the urge to change the temperature from what is programmed may be a challenge, but if you’re successful, you will notice savings.
So why not start this fall when you reset the thermostat for the chilly weather ahead?
Here’s how resetting the programmable thermostat for savings works.
Types of Programmable Thermostats
Your programmable thermostat works in one of three modes:
- Seven-day schedule
- Five-day and weekend schedule
- Five-day and different schedule for Saturday and Sunday
With the first, you can set a different schedule every day. With the second, you can set two schedules, one for the weekdays and one for the weekend. With the third, you can set one for the weekdays, one for Saturday and one for Sunday.
Resetting for Winter
Regardless of the mode your programmable thermostat works in, you can set the schedule to lower the heating at strategic times and save money. Programmable thermostats allow you to store and repeat several daily settings (six or more), which you can also manually override. The overrides do not affect the remainder of the daily or weekly schedule.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, you can save as much as 10 percent annually on your utility bills by lowering or raising the temperature 7 to 10 degrees for at least eight hours daily. The DOE also says that in milder climates such as ours, savings can be greater from setback. For instance, during our mild winters, set the thermostat to 68 degrees while you’re awake, and lower when you’re sleeping or away from the house.
For added savings, program the thermostat to cut back on the heating an hour or more before you go to bed.
Setting back works best for central heating. Setting back the thermostat for heat pumps is not recommended.
For more information on resetting the programmable thermostat, contact CCAC. We serve the Coastal Bend area with pride.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 361-678-2495.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “sashkin/Shutterstock”
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