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Posted: September 22, 2015
Posted: September 22, 2015
Posted by: David O’Connell, President of Wilson Oil & Propane
One of the best ways to save money and remain comfortable is to install a high-quality programmable thermostat in your home. The trouble is many people who have programmable thermostats do not get the full savings potential.
You need to set them up to match your family’s schedule. The best thermostats have settings for each day of the week. When programming the thermostat, keep in mind what time you are in bed each night. Since it takes the average house a while to cool off, you might program the thermostat to set back an hour before. There is no need to keep the heat on a higher setting up to the moment you fall asleep.
Should you turn the heat down when you’re asleep and at work, and turn it back up again when you’re home and awake? Or should you simply turn your thermostat to a set temperature and leave it there?
Some people argue that turning the thermostat down makes your heating system work harder than normal when it gets turned back up, negating any savings that may have accrued from the lower setting. Intuitively, it sounds like a reasonable argument. But based on the facts, it is simply wrong.
The fact is that when your house temperature drops below normal, it loses heat to the environment much more slowly than it does when the heat is at its “normal” temperature of around 68 degrees. Less work for the heating system plus less lost heat to the environment means a lot more savings, savings that are not squandered when the thermostat gets turned back up to 68.
The Department of Energy calculates that turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for 8 hours will save you 5 to 15 percent on your heating bill – a savings of as much as one percent for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long.
If you need a modern thermostat for maximum control, let us help you. Contact us, or call us at 888-607-2621 and we’ll help you and your family stay warm and cozy this season. Read more about programmable thermostats here.
