Some 42 percent of home energy costs are directly related to heating and cooling, according to the Energy Information Administration. A correctly programmed thermostat can help cut some of those energy costs, but it takes knowing how to use your programmable thermostat in order to realize those savings.
Programmable thermostats let you program set your home’s ideal temperature for a variety of days and times, giving you greater control over your home’s comfort and efficiency. These thermostats can help you save anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of your heating and cooling bills, but again, this is only if you know how to properly use them. In some cases, an improperly programmed thermostat can waste more energy than a standard thermostat.
The following tips can help you maximize your home’s energy efficiency through proper thermostat use:
Don’t fiddle with the thermostat. Constantly readjusting your thermostat and removing it from its set program can lead to wasted energy and higher utility costs.
Use the energy-saving setting for at least eight hours, ideally when you’re away from home or asleep. The energy-saving setting is usually several degrees above or below your ideal comfort level, depending on the season. You can use this setting if you’ll be on vacation or away from home for an extended period.
Limit how many times you need to use the override feature on your thermostat, even if you’re tempted to warm up or cool down the house faster.
If possible, consider adding multiple thermostats as part of a house-wide zoning system. This allows you to precisely control temperatures on a room-by-room or floor-by-floor basis.
If you spend a lot of your time in one or two rooms, using an energy-efficient space heater or a room-sized air conditioner can drastically drop your home energy costs.
To learn more about how a properly programmed thermostat can help you save on home energy costs, please contact us at Ernst Heating & Cooling. We offer quality HVAC service in Staunton, Glen Carbon, Greenville, Collinsville and other areas in Southwest Illinois.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Hamel, Alton, Glen Carbon, Highland, Greenville, and Troy, Illinois and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues programmed thermostat and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.Â
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