Save Money and Energy Using Your Thermostat

During the summer months, do you have the air conditioning set low enough that it feels comfortable to wear a long sleeve shirt or pants? Do you grab for a blanket? This is a signal that perhaps you could raise the thermostat and still be quite comfortable. Raising the temperature can save you energy and money. By the same token, in the winter, you shouldn’t want to put the fan on or want to wear shorts. Yet, there is no magical number here.

The Right Temperature

Finding and setting your home at the right temperature is the first goal. It is said that during the winter, setting the heat at 68 F degree is the best starting point. In the summer months, your goal is that of 76 F degrees. You can save a decent amount of money per two degree movement. Keep the air conditioning set at just 76 F degrees and turn on a fan. Doing this will pull out all of the humidity in the air and keep the temperature at a good level.

In the winter months if you have your thermostat set at 70 F degrees normally, if you can still feel comfortable by lowering it to 68 F degrees, you will be able to save a good deal of money.

But, beware. If you continuously are moving the temperature up and down, you are not doing yourself any favors. As the air in the home cools down; it does not take as much energy to keep it at that level. But, if you raise the temperature and the home heats up, the air conditioning needs to work twice as hard to get it back down. This can cause quite a bit of money to be lost. Pick and stay at the right temperature in the home and you can benefit from energy savings.

Programming Help

One thing that you really do want to take into consideration is that of programmable thermostats. These are not too expensive. They are probably just a few dollars more than a standard model and make a large difference.

What can they do? First off, they still work the same as other thermostats. When the home’s temperature changes so there is a need for the air conditioning unit or the furnace to balance it out, they do so.

You can program them to turn on before you come home from work. Let’s say that you are at work most of the day and the kids are at school. When there is no one in the home, why keep the heat on full blast? If the period of time is longer than a couple of hours, these programmable thermostats are a blessing.
You simply set the time in which you will be home (usually about an hour or so before so) and at that time they will kick on. Better models will be able to be programmed for various days of the week too (such as Saturdays you may be home all day.) When the time comes to turn on, they do and get the home to the right temperature. You do not notice any difference until you notice your heating or cooling bills have dropped.

You can also program them for different temperatures at night, when you are sleeping. By raising the temperature in your home during the summer a couple of degrees, or lowering it a couple of degrees in the winter, you can save a great deal of money.

Whether you use a programmable thermostat or simply monitor the temperature yourself, making these small adjustments can mean big energy and cost savings in your home.