Whether you’re primarily concerned about your carbon footprint or your bottom line, installing a programmable thermostat is an important part of improving your home’s energy efficiency. Aris Parviz of Able Air-1, Inc. in Virginia, says that a programmable thermostat is one of simplest, most effective ways to lower your energy costs. Here Parviz talks about the many benefits of installing a programmable thermostat in your home or business.
Today’s homes are becoming more energy efficient while today’s homeowners are becoming more environmentally conscious; and a programmable thermostat is an important element of any high-efficiency HVAC system. Part of a trend toward “smart,” eco-friendly homes, programmable thermostats can simplify your life, keep you and your family more comfortable, and save you money. Here are just a few of the benefits of a programmable thermostat.
Convenience
Programmable thermostats take the guesswork and subjectivity out of maintaining a comfortable indoor air temperature. Once programmed, the thermostat regulates the temperature inside your home according to your settings.
Because you can program your thermometer to bring your home to different temperatures at different times, you can set it to raise or lower the temperature when your family is normally away or asleep, and then return the temperature to within a comfortable range just before your family wakes up or returns from work. You can also establish different settings for weekends, when your family is likely to spend more time at home, or manually override the settings for a specified period of time.
Because you only need to program the thermostat once, you never need to worry about adjusting the temperature or waiting for your home to heat up or cool down. You get the temperature you want when you want it.
Savings
Because it can be programmed to adjust the temperature while your family is sleeping or away, a programmable thermostat creates an opportunity for significant energy savings. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the average homeowner can save about $180 each year simply by properly setting their programmable thermostats and leaving those settings intact.
Using a programmable thermostat is also a relatively “painless” way to conserve energy. Unlike asking your family to bundle up or shed layers indoors to help keep energy costs down, a programmable thermostat allows you maximum indoor comfort when you need it — when you’re home and awake — and only cuts back on energy use during those times you won’t notice the difference. If you or a member of your family are home or awake at unexpected times, the system’s settings can be manually overridden.
You can achieve the best possible savings by reducing the temperature in your home at least 8 degrees in the winter, or raising it by 7 degrees in the summer, overnight and while your family are at work or school. Try to keep the temperature set at its energy-saving point for as long as possible (at least eight hours) and limit the number of times you use the manual override. Another way to save big when you’re out of town is to establish a “vacation” setting. This will ensure that your system consumes as little energy as possible while you’re away.
Additional Benefits
Today’s programmable thermostats also offer aesthetic benefits. Their sleek, modern looks can update and enhance nearly any décor. And their graphics-based interfaces make them intuitive and easy to use.
Programmable thermostats are also ideal for commercial settings. Because most corporate offices are empty in the evenings and on the weekends, a programmable thermostat can be used to raise or lower the temperature while no employees are present, and to return the temperature to a comfortable range just before employees arrive for work.
