As one of the best ways to optimize your home’s comfort level, a programmable thermostat enables homeowners to exert a new level of control over wasted energy. At the same time, you can expect a much lower energy bill. If you’re ready for some cost saving energy practices, read on.
What Is a Programmable Thermostat?
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, properly using a programmable thermostat can slash your cooling and heating bill by anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. Without the need for manual models, home comfort reaches new heights with the functionality of the programmable thermostat. The programmable thermostat allows you to program or set specific times you want your heating or cooling system to come on and switch off.
The programmable thermostat adds a totally new dimension to home comfort, allowing you to simply set it and forget it. Instead of waking up to a freezing home, you can wake up to the perfect temperature at 6:30 am. Sometimes the colder mornings only make way for a much warmer evening. In this case, you can have your programmable thermostat set to the best temperature for heating or cooling your home in the evening.
Key Tips for Optimized Home Comfort and Thermostat Use
- When you’re away at work, set your thermostat back to reduce it’s operation. About 30 minutes before you get home, program the thermostat to begin working again to raise the level of your home comfort so you can get home and relax. You can also optimize the setting at night when everyone’s asleep.
- Without completely erasing the pre-set programming, you can make one area warmer or cooler without overriding the preset programming on the next cycle. However, this feature will negate the cost savings of the thermostat.
- Most programmable thermostats will have two types of hold features. The “hold/permanent vacation” feature is designed for longer stays or vacations. When using this feature, set it at an extremely efficient temperature depending on the time of year because you won’t be in the home. “Temporary hold” is designed to be used on a more daily basis.
Three Different Thermostat Models
- 5+2 day models work on one heating and cooling schedule during the weekdays, but on the weekends, you can set a different schedule entirely.
- 7-day models are designed specifically for a flexible schedule with seven days of programmable heating and cooling flexibility. Several of the thermostats allow you to use up to four different temperatures on each day.
- 5-1-1 models are designed for a consistent schedule Monday through Friday, but both Saturdays and Sundays can each be programmed individually.
Advanced Features for Programmable Thermostats
The features of each programmable thermostat can vary from unit to unit, but the most common features are:
- Adjustable cycle – Adjustable cycle models allow you to prevent your heating or cooling unit from cycling on and off frequently. At the same time, the advanced recovery starts the heating and cooling system during the energy-saving period so your home is heated or cooled exactly where you want it when you get home.
- Auto changeover switch – Models with an auto changeover can switch from heating and cooling in a programmable cycle. This is extremely helpful on blistering cold mornings and warmer mid-days and nights.
- Intuitive controls and clear onscreen prompts – With a larger read-out of the times and temperatures, you’ll avoid making costly mistakes. A larger backlit screen display offers an illuminated display, which makes the screen much more visible. Programmable thermostats are trending toward touch screens instead of buttons and knobs.
- Filter change reminders – This feature tells you when your A/C or furnace filter needs to be changed.
- Full memory save – This feature will save your programs even after a power outage.
For more information about home comfort and programmable thermostats, contact Meyer’s. We proudly serve the HVAC needs of homeowners in and around Gary, Griffith and surrounding areas.