For plenty of hours a day you’re away at work, or maybe at school. Yet your comfort system keeps working, without anybody home. This needs a lot of energy and feels like wasting money. You can significantly lower this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down as you go to work and setting it back to your preferred temperature when you return home. But how much should you adjust it?
Here’s what the Department of Energy says about thermostat adjustments:
You can save around 10% a year on HVAC costs by simply turning your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day rather than its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in cooler climates than for those in more severe climates.
The lower the contrast between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the more affordable your complete cooling bill will be. You can comfortably save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to about 68°F while you're awake and setting it down while you're sleeping or away from home. In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by leaving your house warmer than normal when you are away and setting the thermostat to a setting as high as you're comfortable with when you return and want cooling and to provide humidity control if necessary.
You may have been told that these kinds of adjustments aren’t worth the time because your HVAC has to work extra hard to return to your preferred temperature, undoing your savings, but the energy department suggests this isn't true, particularly for a furnace: “A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.”
Programmable and Smart Thermostats
Regardless of the benefits of setting your thermostat each time you go to work, it’s easy to miss in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one benefit of programmable and smart thermostats. You can adjust your thermostat to automatically shift to another temperature across your average work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can change the temperature (or the programming schedule) from anywhere. This is very helpful if you’ve forgotten to change the setting before leaving for a trip.
Remember the Pets
If you have pets at home, give consideration to their comfort too. Cats and dogs with thick fur won’t be comfy with high temperatures. And pets with less fur may not be pleased with cold temperatures. The same applies to tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Considering temperature preferences differ universally by breed and species, so it helps to verify the ideal temperature range for your pets.
Other Benefits of Setting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions - The harder you run your heating and cooling, the more carbon emissions you produce. Conserving energy decreases air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity - Demanding too much from your heating and cooling can reduce its life span and cause more maintenance to be required. It also means the air filter may clog up sooner, making your indoor air supply worse.
If you have any questions about your air conditioner options, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, get in touch with the professionals at Comfortech Service Experts , a big company with local heart. We’re serious about making the world a comfy place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers and communities comfy and contented.
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