Among the finest way to save money on heating and cooling aside from being environment-friendly is have a local HVAC Contractor set-up a programmable thermostat at home. It allows you to set the air or heat to go on or off during various hours of the day or even at night. For instance, you can set it at a low temperature when you’re working during the day and program it to be warmer at the end of the day when you’re already back home. The same thing applies at night. Program it to a low temperature while you’re asleep and set it to warm up when morning comes. A programmable thermostat is more convenient and accurate that its manual counterparts. If not sure which programmable thermostat will work best in your home, ask an HVAC contractor to find out.
It’s worth knowing that an average home spends over $2,000 every year on energy costs, and about half of it is attributed to heating and cooling. That’s an awfully big amount of money. But, you can enjoy savings of $180 yearly when you set and maintain your programmable thermostat right. You’ll be surprised at how easy these steps are and the amount of savings you get out of it. Aside from energy conservation, you can also program ventilation in its settings to make sure air is always fresh inside the house.
Selecting a Programmable Thermostat
You can choose from a diverse list of programmable thermostats commercially-available today. To make sure you’re buying the best, go with the one with the Energy Star mark. It means your chosen programmable thermostat is energy-efficient if it bears that seal.
At the minimum, select a programmable thermostat that has these features:
- Touchpad screen
- Backlit and digital displays
- Hold-vacation settings
Other programmable thermostats have added features such as:
- Phone or voice programming
- Indicators that let you know when you need to replace your filters
- Smart / adaptive recovery features: these are control features that can predict the length of time required before reaching the succeeding set-point temperature, and achieve the desired temperature according to the set time
- Energy monitors keep track of the number of hours an HVAC system has already run for a particular period
Preferred Thermostat Types
Get to know the various thermostat models preferred by most homeowners nowadays.
- The 7-day model
- He 5+2 day model
- 5-1-1 model
The 7-day model is ideal for families whose schedule is always changing. It lets them make plenty of changes and then program the temperature settings accordingly. The 5+2 model follows a single schedule during weekdays and a different one once the weekend comes. The 5-1-1 model is excellent for individuals or families with a single schedule during weekdays and different schedules during Saturday and Sunday. You can choose the type that suits your family’s needs by checking your family’s schedule and your preferences when it comes to heating and cooling. For starters, a good programmable thermostat often costs around $200 on the average. What you save in a year or two on energy costs can help you immediately offset the cost of buying and setting up the thermostat.
Lastly, hire a professional HVAC technician to install your new programmable thermostat to make sure it’s set-up right and safely.