For plenty of hours a day you’re gone at work, or perhaps at school. Yet your heating or air conditioning keeps going and going, despite the house being empty. This uses up a lot of energy and feels like wasting money. You can considerably lower this cost by changing the thermostat up or down as you leave for work and employ it back to your preferred temperature when you return home. But how much should you adjust the temperature?
Here’s what the Department of Energy suggests about thermostat adjustments:
You can save around 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply setting your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day compared to its usual setting. The percentage of savings from setback is better for buildings in milder climates than for those in more dynamic climates.
The tinier the difference between the outdoor and indoor temperatures, the lower your complete cooling bill should be. You can easily save energy during the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you’re awake and turning it lower while you’re in bed or away from home. In the summer, you can use the same strategy with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are at work and setting the thermostat to a setting as warm as is comfortable for you when you are at home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if needed.
You could have been told that making these adjustments are not worth it because your comfort system has to work extra hard to return to your favored temperature, reversing your savings, but the energy department dismisses that claim, especially for a furnace: “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
Despite the benefits of changing your thermostat every time you head to work, it’s not hard to forget in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one advantage of programmable and smart thermostats. You can adjust your thermostat to automatically move to another temperature through your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) change. This is very helpful if you’ve neglected to fix the setting before leaving for a trip.
Always Remember the Pets
If you have pets at home, think about their comfort too. Cats and dogs with heavy fur won’t be comfortable with high temperatures. And pets with less dense fur may not be pleased with cold temperatures. The same goes for tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Considering temperature tolerances differ universally by breed and species, so review them for your pets.
More Perks of Changing Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions – The more often you run your HVAC system, the more carbon emissions you produce. Saving energy reduces air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity – Demanding too much from your HVAC system can diminish its longevity and cause more maintenance to be necessary. It also means the air filter may clog up sooner, making your indoor air supply worse.
If you have any questions about your air conditioner options, or if you require HVAC repair or maintenance, call the specialists at Service Experts, a big company with hometown heart. We’re passionate about making the world a cozy place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling, or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers and communities cozy and satisfied.
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