You Can Save Money and Energy by Resetting Your Programmable Thermostat


Next to saving you money, the most attractive feature of a programmable thermostat is that you can maintain a comfortable home without having to think much about it. Before your reach that point, however, you do need to make some decisions. To get the maximum benefit from the device, you must first analyze your own lifestyle. Then you can customize the settings to match it.

The first step is to map out the times during which your home is typically empty. These are the hours that children are at school and adults are at work. During this time, you can raise the temperature setting in the summer and lower it during cooler months by at least two degrees. Next, determine which hours everyone is typically asleep. Sleeping with extra blankets during cool nights is much more cost effective than heating the home.

Using these time frames as your guide, you can program your thermostat to adjust the temperature so that your house is warm when you wake up in the morning, but cooler when no one is home. Many people are under the impression that it takes more energy to adjust the temperature than it does to keep the temperature constant. That would be true of huge temperature swings, but not minor adjustments. A variation of 7-10 degrees for eight hours each day can significantly reduce your energy consumption for the year, which translates to a major reduction in cost.

People are often confused by their programmable thermostats and therefore don’t get the most benefits possible from the device. The simple solution is to contact the experts before you buy and seek assistance after it is installed. When you switch from air conditioning to heating, it’s wise to schedule a maintenance visit from an HVAC specialist. Your certified technician will be able to help you program the thermostat to match your needs and how to override it when necessary.

Contact the experts at Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning Service to arrange a maintenance visit. We have been helping Florida homeowners stay comfortable since 1969.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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