With record high temperatures across the country and summer just getting under way, you may be seeing record high electricity bills for running your air conditioner. You can save energy and money without sacrificing comfort by having your HVAC technician install a programmable thermostat.
Programmable thermostats are also referred to as “setback” thermostats because they set the thermostat temperature back while you are away from home during the day or asleep at night. Programmable thermostats allow you to set a cooling schedule that adjusts the temperature to a warmer setting while your home is unoccupied or at night while you are asleep.
For example, the thermostat could be set to cool your home to 78 degrees in time for you to wake up in the morning, automatically increase the temperature setting to 85 degrees after you leave for work, cool your home back to 78 degrees by the time to return home for the evening, and allow the temperature to climb to 82 degrees overnight. The next morning the cycle will start over again.
You can achieve the same effect and savings by manually adjusting your existing thermostat, but a programmable thermostat has at least two advantages over the do-it-yourself method. First, a programmable thermostat relieves you from remembering to change the setting throughout the day. Since it works automatically, it never “forgets” to adjust the temperature setting and maximizes your energy savings.
In addition, a programmable thermostat adjusts the temperature so that your home is comfortable as soon as you wake up and when you return home from work. If you turn the temperature setting down when you get home from work or wake up in the morning, you will have to wait for the temperature to reach the desired setting.
