Your thermostat is more than a just way to adjust the temperature in your home. It’s a gateway to major savings on your energy bill, but only if you set it correctly. Common questions we receive from our Wichita Falls customers are “What should the thermostat be set at?” and “How do I change the settings for summer and winter?” While each individual’s personal comfort preferences will largely dictate their program, there are some guidelines you can follow to help maximize your savings.
Benefits of a programmable thermostat
If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, chances are you are missing out on significant potential energy savings.
Do any of these behaviors sound familiar to you?
- I set my thermostat at a comfortable temperature and leave it there 24/7.
- If my house is too hot when I get home, I crank up the air conditioner until it cools down.
- When I go on vacation, I might remember to turn down my thermostat a couple degrees, but not always.
- I tend to get cold at night, but I don’t turn down the air conditioner because otherwise it will be hot when I wake up in the morning.
If you fall into any of these pitfalls, you could definitely benefit from installing a programmable thermostat. You can install a programmable thermostat in about 30 minutes, and start seeing the energy savings immediately. Programmable thermostats can be set to run the same program all week long, or they can be set to follow one schedule during the week and another on the weekends. There are even thermostats that are sophisticated enough to learn from your behaviors and auto-adjust themselves.
Program your thermostat like a pro
Let’s assume that you have a programmable thermostat, and that you’re familiar with the technical aspects of programming your particular model. Now we can look into what should the thermostat be set at for you to start seeing energy savings.
Questions to ask yourself before you begin:
- Are there times of the day that the house is typically empty, like when you’re at work and the kids are at school?
- What time does everyone typically wake up and go to bed?
- Is you weekend schedule the same or different than your weekday schedule?
- Do you have pets or plants?
- What temperature makes you comfortable?
The first key to saving money with any cooling or heating schedule is to “set back” the thermostat 5-10 degrees from the normal setting for long periods of time throughout the day, preferably eight hours or more. The ideal time to set back your thermostat is when you are sleeping or away from home. (The sleeping setback probably should be a few degrees less than the one when nobody’s home.)
When considering what should the thermostat be set at, remember that cranking up the dial further than your desired temperature won’t make the house heat up or cool down any quicker, and is very inefficient. Programming your thermostat to begin cooling down/heating up about a half hour before you wake up or arrive home will ensure that your house is always a comfortable temperature. Some units will do this automatically, whereas others will require that you set the program up manually.
Finally, if you plan to leave for an extended period of time, be sure to enable the vacation mode on your thermostat so that the system will run at the energy-saving set point that you have programmed.
Keep in mind that even setting the temperature one degree above or below what you’re used to can save you up to 3 percent on your energy bill.
Trouble-shooting your program
There are a few reasons that your thermostat may not be saving you as much money as you would like. After initially deciding what should the thermostat be set at, you may need to adjust your programming to maximize your savings. If you find yourself using the hold/override feature frequently, that’s a sign that something’s not right. Also, some units run on batteries that need to be replaced at least once a year for the system to function properly (while other thermostats are hardwired into your electrical system).
At James Lane, your comfort is our top priority. Our family-owned business continues to provide the same quality, customer-centered service that residents of the Wichita Falls area have come to expect over the last 50 years. Even though we are continuously looking for ways to advance our state-of-the-art technology, when you call us you will always find a person on the other end ready to answer your questions.
