For plenty of hours a day you’re away at work, or possibly at school. Yet your comfort system continues to run, with nobody home. This uses a ton of energy and wastes money. You can dramatically lower this cost by setting the thermostat up or down before you leave for work and adjusting it back to your preferred temperature when you come home. But how much should you adjust the temperature?
Here’s what the Department of Energy says about thermostat settings:
You can save up to 10% a year on heating and cooling bills by just turning your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day rather than its usual setting. The percentage of savings from setback is better for buildings in milder climates than for those in more extreme climates.
The smaller the contrast between the outdoor and indoor temperatures, the less expensive your overall cooling bill should be. You can comfortably save energy in the winter by adjusting 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 use the same strategy with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are away and setting the thermostat to a setting as warm as is comfortable for you when you're home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if required.
You may have been advised that doing these adjustments won't be worth it because your comfort system has to work even harder to go back to your favored temperature, using up your savings, but the energy department puts that notion to rest, especially for heating: “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
Even with the benefits of changing your thermostat each time you leave for work, it’s not hard to miss in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one benefit of programmable and smart thermostats. You can direct your thermostat to automatically change to a higher or lower temperature through your average work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can adjust the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is particularly helpful if you’ve neglected to adjust the setting before leaving for a trip.
Don't Forget the Pets
If you own pets, think about their comfort as well. Cats and dogs with thick fur won’t be comfy with high temperatures. And pets with less fur might not be happy with cold temperatures. The same applies to tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Since temperature tolerances deviate universally by breed and species, so review them for your pets.
Additional Benefits of Setting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions - The harder you run your heating and cooling, the more carbon emissions you generate. Saving energy decreases air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity - Demanding too much from your HVAC unit can diminish its life span and cause increased maintenance to be necessary. It also means the air filter will clog up faster, making your indoor air quality worse.
If you have any concerns about your air conditioner settings, or if you require HVAC repair or maintenance, get in touch with the professionals at Air Engineers Service Experts, a big company with hometown heart. We’re passionate about making the world a comfortable place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water flow, we have a lot of pride in keeping our customers and communities comfortable and content.
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