Programmable Thermostats

Programmable Thermostats

One way to lower your monthly utility bills is to set your thermostat back while you are away from home or asleep. By consistently programming your thermostat to use less energy when you do not need the warmer or cooler temperatures, you can save up to 15% of your heating bill and almost 1% for every degree in the summer. In Durham, programmable thermostats are easy to install, set up and use for temperature control. At Boer Brothers Heating and Cooling, we provide helpful tips and information to assist you with your programmable thermostat operation. There are three tips to help you get started: determine your schedule, decide on your comfort needs and put in a program that will work for the entire season.

Determine Your Schedule

What time do you usually leave your house in the morning for work? Do you work from home on one floor of the home? What time do the kids come home from school or do you return from work? Determining your weekly schedule is helpful so that you can plan to set the thermostat back 5-10 degrees when you have a long period of time away from the home, every day. For the hours that you are in the house during the day, your comfort level is important, so you will want to set your thermostat to a temperature that will keep your family comfortable. Your HVAC system will work more efficiently if it set up with a consistent schedule, programmed in your thermostat. In Durham, programmable thermostats are especially helpful because the opportunity for cost savings is convenient and easy to achieve.

Stay True to Your Comfort Needs

It may be tempting to keep the house at 65 degrees in the winter to save the most amount of money on your energy bills, but realistically it will not be a smart choice if everyone in the home is uncomfortable. Typically, a setting of 68-70 degrees in the winter season will keep your indoor air temperature at a comfortable level while you are at home. At night, while you are sleeping, you will not need as much heat to stay comfortable, with blankets and a comforter. Therefore, you can adjust the thermostat to 63-65 degrees and not feel chilled.

Program Your Thermostat

Once you have determined the best times of the day and night to program your thermostat, you are ready to input the schedule. In the winter, make sure the system setting is on “Heat” and in the summer, it should be on “Cool”. Programmable thermostats allow you to put in a schedule for Monday through Friday, and a different schedule for Saturday and Sunday. If you are going on a trip, program a consistent, lower setting for the entire time period. If you forgot to program the thermostat before your trip, there are some thermostats that allow to program from your smart phone. In the summer months, programming your thermostat to 77-79 degrees while you are on vacation will help you to greatly realize savings. Make sure that you program temperatures to return to normal about an hour before you return from your trip.

In Durham, programmable thermostats do not have to work harder than normal to warm the home after it has been set back a few degrees for a trip because when the house is cooler, it loses heat less quickly to the outside. So, a lower indoor temperature will result in slower heat loss, and the longer your home stays at the low temperature, the greater the energy savings. Likewise, in the summer months, a higher setting will slow the flow of the hot air into your house, with energy savings while air conditioning your home. At Boer Brothers, we install programmable thermostats in Durham to help you become more energy efficient and save money.