A myth has been floating around for years that keeping your home at a constant temperature–say 72 degrees year round–is the best way to save money on energy bills and avoid making your furnace or air conditioner play catch up. But while this makes a certain intuitive sense, your heating and cooling systems just don’t function that way! Using a programmable thermostat that adjusts the temperature of your home depending on the day and time is actually a much better way to save on energy bills and avoid wasting energy.
Why Use a Programmable Thermostat
By setting your programmable thermostat to a lower (or higher, depending on the season) temperature at night and during the day while people are at work and school, you can save up to 20% on your energy bills throughout the year!
Which basically answers the next question we get: Is it difficult to use a programmable thermostat? Well, not difficult enough to lose out on such a big savings! Our customers are often intimidated by all of the buttons and the complicated-looking instructions in the owner’s manual, but it’s really not that bad. And we are always happy to help our clients figure out their programmable thermostat when we come to do an annual maintenance on a furnace or air conditioner. (If you can’t actually find your owner’s manual, most manufacturers provide them online as well. For instance, the brand that Dan installs, Honeywell programmable thermostats, has a page where you can search for owner’s manuals by model number online).
Using your programmable thermostat, or having one installed if you still have an old model, is a great way to see energy savings throughout the year. And remember that you can usually leave your heating and cooling system completely off during most of the spring and fall in Colorado, especially if you have a good ceiling fan in your most-used rooms.
If you have additional questions on whether you are using your programmable thermostat correctly, Dan would be happy to answer them. Contact him at 720.876.7166 or [email protected]. And stay tuned for additional thoughts on the latest thermostat innovation: “smart” thermostats like Nest.
