For plenty of hours a day you’re gone at work, or possibly at school. Yet your comfort system keeps going and going, without anybody home. This needs a ton of energy and wastes money. You can considerably lower this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down as you head to work and setting it back to your favored temperature when you return home. But how much should the thermostat be adjusted?
Here’s what the Department of Energy has to say about thermostat settings:
You can save as much as 10% a year on HVAC costs by just turning your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day compared to its typical setting. The percentage of savings from setback is better for buildings in cooler climates than for those in more severe climates.
The tinier the variation between the both temperatures, the less expensive your total cooling bill should be. You can comfortably save energy during the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you're awake and adjusting it lower while you're in bed or away from home. In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are at work and tweaking the thermostat to a setting as high as you're comfortable with when you return and want cooling and to provide humidity control if required.
You may have been informed that these kinds of adjustments aren’t worth it because your comfort system has to work harder to return to your preferred temperature, using up your savings, but the energy department suggests this isn't true, namely for heaters: “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
Despite the benefits of changing your thermostat any time you head to work, it’s very 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 during your standard work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can adjust the temperature (or the programming schedule) from anywhere. This is especially helpful if you’ve forgotten to change the setting before going on vacation.
Remember the Pets
If you have a pet, consider their comfort as well. Cats and dogs with dense fur won’t be comfortable with high temperatures. And pets with less dense fur may not be comfortable with cold temperatures. The same applies to tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Because temperature preferences vary significantly by breed and species, so it helps to verify the ideal temperature range for your pets.
More Perks of Adjusting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away
- Carbon emissions - The more you run your HVAC system, the more carbon emissions you produce. Saving energy minimizes air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
- HVAC Longevity - Demanding too much from your heating and cooling can reduce its life expectancy and cause increased maintenance to be required. It also means the air filter will clog up more quickly, making your air less clean.
If you have any ideas about your air conditioner features, or if you are looking for HVAC repair or maintenance, call the professionals at Sunbeam Service Experts, a big company with local heart. We’re passionate about making the world a comfy 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 cozy and content.
Experts — it’s in the name and vital to our business. We work hard to help each member of our staff develop into a skilled craftsman. We work with the best and provide instruction, opportunities and assistance, so our staff can learn, grow and be ready for any kind of challenge they're faced with.
Our combined business strength and people distinguish us from the competition. With more than 4,000 team members collaborating on making you comfortable, we can deliver and innovate more effectively than the competition. Our enthusiastic, neighborly attitude fuels our cooperation and helps us get the job done on time, and right — the first time.
Our combination of company size and unique expertise means we can offer more with the next big 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 rest assured we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long haul, through the busier times and beyond.
We are Sunbeam Service Experts! Giving strength, knowledge and support through every season.