For several hours a day you’re gone at work, or possibly at school. Yet your comfort system keeps working, with nobody home. This uses a ton of energy and feels like wasting money. You can dramatically lower this cost by changing the thermostat up or down as you go to work and adjusting it back to your desired temperature when you get home. But how much should you adjust the temperature?
Here’s what the Department of Energy has to say about thermostat adjustments:
You can save up to 10% a year on heating and cooling bills by just adjusting your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day from its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is larger for buildings in cooler climates than for those in more extreme climates.
The tinier the difference between the both temperatures, the lower your total cooling bill will be. You can effectively save energy in the winter by lowering the thermostat to something like 68°F while you're awake and adjusting it down while you're in bed or away from home. For summer, you can follow the same plan with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are at work and tweaking the thermostat to a setting as warm as you can manage comfortably when you are at home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if required.
You may have been told that these kinds of adjustments are not worth the time because your HVAC has to work harder to go back to your desired temperature, undoing your savings, but the energy department dismisses that claim, especially for heaters: “A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.”
Programmable and Smart Thermostats
Despite the benefits of changing your thermostat every time you head to work, it’s not hard to miss in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one advantage of programmable and smart thermostats. You can instruct your thermostat to automatically shift to another temperature across your standard work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) from anywhere. This is particularly helpful if you’ve neglected to fix the setting before leaving for a trip.
Always Remember the Pets
If you own pets, consider their comfort too. Cats and dogs with dense fur won’t be as happy with high temperatures. And pets with less fur may not be pleased with cold temperatures. The same goes for tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Considering temperature tolerances deviate widely by breed and species, look them up for your pets.
Additional Advantages of Setting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions - The harder you run your heating and air conditioning, the more carbon emissions you produce. Conserving energy reduces air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity - Overworking your heating and cooling can cut its life span and cause additional maintenance to be needed. It also means the air filter may clog up faster, making your indoor air quality worse.
If you have any concerns about your air conditioner options, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, contact the professionals at Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning, a big company with local heart. We’re serious about making the world a comfortable place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water flow, we take great pride in keeping our customers and communities cozy and contented.
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We are Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning! Offering strength, knowledge and support over every season.