For plenty of hours a day you’re gone at work, or maybe at school. Yet your heating or air conditioning keeps going and going, without anybody home. This uses up a lot of energy and feels like wasting money. You can significantly reduce this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down when you go to work and setting it back to your preferred temperature when you get home. But how much should the thermostat be adjusted?
Here’s what the Department of Energy says about thermostat settings:
You can save up to 10% a year on HVAC costs by simply adjusting your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day compared to its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is larger for buildings in cooler climates than for those in more extreme climates.
The smaller the contrast between the outdoor and indoor temperatures, the more affordable your total cooling bill can be. You can comfortably save energy during the winter by lowering the thermostat to around 68°F while you're awake and adjusting it down while you're in bed or away from home. In the summer, you can practice the same plan with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are away and tweaking the thermostat to a setting as high as is comfortable for you when you are at home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if needed.
You could have been told that these kinds of adjustments aren’t worth the effort because your heating and cooling has to work extra hard to return to your desired temperature, reversing your savings, but the energy department puts that notion to rest, particularly for heating: “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 adjusting your thermostat any time you leave for work, it’s easy to overlook in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one advantage of programmable and smart thermostats. You can instruct your thermostat to automatically change to a different temperature through 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 adjust the setting before going on a long trip.
Always Remember the Pets
If you own pets, think about their comfort too. Cats and dogs with heavy fur won’t be as happy with high temperatures. And pets with short fur may not be comfortable with cold temperatures. The same is true of tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Since temperature preferences deviate universally by breed and species, so it helps to verify the ideal temperature range for your pets.
More Perks of Changing Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions - The harder you use your heating and air conditioning, the more carbon emissions you produce. Conserving energy minimizes air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity - Overworking your heating and cooling can cut its life expectancy and cause additional maintenance to be necessary. It also means the air filter will clog up more quickly, making your indoor air supply worse.
If you have any concerns about your air conditioner features, or if you are looking for HVAC repair or maintenance, contact the pros at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning, a big company with hometown heart. We’re enthusiastic about making the world a comfortable place to live. Whether we’re keeping things warm, cooling things down or making the water flow, we have a lot of pride in keeping our customers and communities comfortable and contented.
Experts — it’s in the name and central to our work. We strive to help each technician or installer become a skilled craftsman. We employ the best and supply education, opportunities and reinforcement, so everyone can learn, improve and be equipped for any challenge they're faced with.
Our combined business strength and people separate us from other service companies. With more than 4,000 team members collaborating on making you comfortable, we can deliver and innovate more successfully than the rest of the industry. Our enthusiastic, neighborly attitude energizes our cooperation and helps us get the job done in a timely manner, and right — the first time.
Our fusion of company size and individual expertise means we can do more with the next great idea … which could come from anywhere and anyone. We are reinventing the industry by harnessing each team member’s best ideas. That means our teams and customers can relax knowing we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long run, through the busiest times and beyond.
We are Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning! Offering strength, knowledge and support across every season.