In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics on recommended thermostat settings in the home. The thermostat helps run the HVAC system while defining its efficiency, and setting it in the proper ways can go a long way toward saving you money while keeping yourself and your family comfortable throughout the year.
At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we’re here to help with numerous thermostat areas as part of our air conditioning maintenance, central air installations or any of our other reliable HVAC services. In today’s part two of our series, we’ll go over a few additional thermostat basics to keep in mind in terms of settings while home and away, plus how you can help out your thermostat – and finally, some information on modern thermostat options all homeowners should be considering.
Home Versus Out
In part one of our series, we went over general thermostat temperature setting ranges for both the summer and winter periods of the year. One major factor that impacts these settings, however: Whether or not anyone is home.
When no one is in the house, there’s no need for the thermostat or HVAC system to be working as hard as they normally do. While you will generally have the thermostat set between 76 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit during summer, as we discussed in part one, you can raise this by at least 7-10 degrees while no one is home for at least a couple hours. This will save you huge amounts on cooling costs; the same goes for the winter period, only in the other direction.
Helping the Thermostat
In addition to the proper settings for your thermostat depending on who is home, there are several methods you can take to assist the thermostat and HVAC system in cooling or warming the home. As it’s currently summer, here are several such tips within the realm of helping the system cool the home (several of these themes can be reversed during winter):
- Use window treatments like blinds or shades that block sun and prevent heat from entering.
- Replace old weatherstripping, caulking or other materials blocking any air gaps in door and window areas, stopping air from escaping.
- Limit use of appliances like stoves or ovens that generate heat to non-peak heating hours (early mornings and later in the evening).
- Install and utilize ceiling fans to assist with cooling.
- Replace older cooling equipment with newer, more efficient models.
Value of a Programmable Thermostat
Finally, we wanted to spend a moment here on the programmable thermostat. Those home versus out temperature themes we went over above are so much easier to achieve when you can program the thermostat in advance – if you know you’ll be at work during a given time range each weekday, for instance, you can program these hours into the thermostat and it will change your heating or cooling automatically. There are even smart thermostat options that can be controlled using smartphones and offer numerous intuitive services. Both these options will save you enormous sums over time in the way they help limit energy use while keeping you comfortable.
For more on thermostat settings and related factors, or to learn about any of our HVAC or plumbing services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric today.