With the cold weather almost here, it’s more important than ever that you maintain a comfortable temperature in your Dayton-area home. Utilizing a programmable thermostat can help you accomplish this by allowing you to set daily and weekly energy-saving settings.
To get the most out of a programmable thermostat, follow six simple guidelines:
- Utilize set-points – Each unit includes set-points that are designed to save energy. For the most energy savings, keep the thermostat at these set-points for at least eight hours a day, such as when you’re at work or sleeping.
- Limit your override – You can override a programmable thermostat’s pre-set programming to either warm or cool an area for a short period of time. If you do this often, however, you’re defeating the device’s purpose and wasting energy and money.
- Avoid the vacation setting – Some homeowners will use the vacation setting on a daily basis, thinking this will help keep energy output to a minimum. In actuality, overuse of this setting can lead to higher energy costs, because it’s easy to accidentally leave the incorrect setting when you actually are away.
- No more cranking – Some homeowners believe that if they move the temperature setting way up or way down, the system will work to warm up or cool down your house more quickly. This is not the case. The speed of temperature change will remain constant, and all you’ll do is run the system for longer than necessary as it tries to satisfy an extreme setting.
- Be aware of zoning systems – If you utilize a zoning system for your home, be sure that each individual thermostat has been set to your liking.
- Switch out the batteries – This should be done every year. If the batteries die, then your thermostat basically becomes a piece of plastic and wiring.
For more expert advice about programmable thermostats, or for any questions relating to home comfort, please contact the friendly professionals at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc. We’ve been serving Dayton and the surrounding area since 1978.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about programmable thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
