Should I Use a Programmable Thermostat?
What is more efficient, setting my thermostat at one temperature, or turning it off when I leave? Most people leave the thermostat at their business or in their home at one constant temperature.
This may lead to conflicts when some people might think it is too hot and other people might think it is too cold.
When this happens at home, the thermostat can be changed multiple times to accommodate the likes of different family members.
At work the boss has more control over the thermostat making employees either have to put on a sweater or bring a personal fan with them.
It is important for both home and business owners to understand and pay attention to the efficiency of their HVAC systems so they can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas produced thereby reducing energy usage and save them money.
The Energy Information Administration says that heating and cooling systems attribute to more than 42 percent of a home's energy cost.
Energy wise homeowners as well as business owners always make certain they do everything possible to reduce their energy bills.
If you are a home or business owner you may wonder at times whether it is more efficient to turn your HVAC system off when you are not at home or work, or should you just leave it set at a constant temperature.
You might be surprised to know there is a third option of having a programmable thermostat installed.
But, if this is not an option, it is best to turn the system off when you are gone.
Turn it Off Whereas you might think it counterintuitive to keep turning your AC off and on throughout the day, doing this will actually make the unit work more efficiently and thereby save money.
An AC system will operate best when run at full capacity rather than it turning itself off and back on to meet a set temperature even when you are away.
Instead of constantly turning off and on in order to keep a home at 72 degrees all the time, a HVAC system works much more efficiently if it can cool the home from 80 to 72 once you return.
The estimates of the ACEEE or American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy for an AC are that it will use between 3 and 5 percent less energy per degree that you increase the thermostat.
They also recommend people to set the thermostat to 78 or even 80 degrees when you leave and when it is hot.
They additionally recommend that the thermostat should be set to 68 degrees during the winter and that people, to compensate, can either dress warmer in the winter or cooler in the summer to save on heating and cooling cost.
Benefits of a Programmable Thermostat All of the above can easily be solved by having a programmable thermostat, which gives you perfect control over the heating and cooling.
This gives you the ability to set the temperature lower during the weekend or holidays when you will be home and higher when everyone is off to work or school.
This thermostat can also be set to keep the home cooler at night during the winter when everyone is warm in their beds and then have it set to increase the temperature in the morning when people are getting up for work and or school.
It is important that you ask your professional HVAC tech to make the programmable thermostat works just as well with both the heat and air units because there are some that work better with AC units than they do with heat pumps causing problems during winter.
However, temperature settings and thermostats only make up a part of the picture as far as heating and cooling a home or business efficiently.
You should also think about weather stripping your home to keep cool air from escaping in the summer and warm air from escaping in the winter.
This may lead to conflicts when some people might think it is too hot and other people might think it is too cold.
When this happens at home, the thermostat can be changed multiple times to accommodate the likes of different family members.
At work the boss has more control over the thermostat making employees either have to put on a sweater or bring a personal fan with them.
It is important for both home and business owners to understand and pay attention to the efficiency of their HVAC systems so they can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas produced thereby reducing energy usage and save them money.
The Energy Information Administration says that heating and cooling systems attribute to more than 42 percent of a home's energy cost.
Energy wise homeowners as well as business owners always make certain they do everything possible to reduce their energy bills.
If you are a home or business owner you may wonder at times whether it is more efficient to turn your HVAC system off when you are not at home or work, or should you just leave it set at a constant temperature.
You might be surprised to know there is a third option of having a programmable thermostat installed.
But, if this is not an option, it is best to turn the system off when you are gone.
Turn it Off Whereas you might think it counterintuitive to keep turning your AC off and on throughout the day, doing this will actually make the unit work more efficiently and thereby save money.
An AC system will operate best when run at full capacity rather than it turning itself off and back on to meet a set temperature even when you are away.
Instead of constantly turning off and on in order to keep a home at 72 degrees all the time, a HVAC system works much more efficiently if it can cool the home from 80 to 72 once you return.
The estimates of the ACEEE or American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy for an AC are that it will use between 3 and 5 percent less energy per degree that you increase the thermostat.
They also recommend people to set the thermostat to 78 or even 80 degrees when you leave and when it is hot.
They additionally recommend that the thermostat should be set to 68 degrees during the winter and that people, to compensate, can either dress warmer in the winter or cooler in the summer to save on heating and cooling cost.
Benefits of a Programmable Thermostat All of the above can easily be solved by having a programmable thermostat, which gives you perfect control over the heating and cooling.
This gives you the ability to set the temperature lower during the weekend or holidays when you will be home and higher when everyone is off to work or school.
This thermostat can also be set to keep the home cooler at night during the winter when everyone is warm in their beds and then have it set to increase the temperature in the morning when people are getting up for work and or school.
It is important that you ask your professional HVAC tech to make the programmable thermostat works just as well with both the heat and air units because there are some that work better with AC units than they do with heat pumps causing problems during winter.
However, temperature settings and thermostats only make up a part of the picture as far as heating and cooling a home or business efficiently.
You should also think about weather stripping your home to keep cool air from escaping in the summer and warm air from escaping in the winter.
Source...