The easiest way to save heating dollars is to lower the temperature setting on your house thermostat, when possible.
As a general rule, you will save 2 percent on your heating bill for every 2°F you turn down the thermostat overnight.
Programmable thermostats have electronic timers that allow you to preset household temperatures for specific periods of the day and night. In a typical application, you could program the thermostat to reduce the temperature an hour before you go to bed and to increase it before you get up in the morning. You could also program it to reduce the temperature for any period during the day when the house is unoccupied and to restore the temperature shortly before you return.
For example, you could have the temperature set at 17°C (63°F) when you are sleeping or not at home and at 20°C (68°F) when you are awake and at home. Experiment with the unit until you find the most comfortable and economical routine for you and your family.
Programmable thermostats that are ENERGY STAR qualified are required to offer at least four possible daily temperature settings (e.g., wake, day, evening, sleep) for at least two different program periods (e.g., weekdays and weekends).
A hold feature allows you to temporarily override the program for a period such as a vacation.
The thermostat will include instructions for the installer to adjust the cycle to suit your heating/cooling equipment. It will come pre-programmed with recommended temperature settings, but you may readily change them to suit your comfort and daily schedule.
Check for additional features that allow you to:
- store and repeat additional daily settings that can be run and changed without affecting the regular settings
- store more than four daily temperature settings
- adjust heating and cooling turn-on times in response to o side temperature changes