In today’s economy, every dollar counts – especially when it comes to the rising cost of energy. Did you know that programmable thermostats are one of the most reliable energy savers available? With the high temperatures that are often synonymous with summer a small investment in this type of device makes perfect sense.
A programmable thermostat is designed to adjust your home’s temperature automatically to save energy when your family is sleeping or away from home. If used appropriately, a programmable thermostat can save you up to 10% – 15% on heating and cooling costs by simply adjusting your thermostat 10°–15° (plus or minus) for eight hours.
Programmable thermostats are designed with a built-in clock that can adjust the temperature setting of your air conditioner to correspond to whatever settings you select such as sleep mode vs. waking mode and occupied vs. unoccupied. You set the programmable thermostat based on the typical schedule your family follows. For example, if your home is unoccupied during the day in summer you can set your programmable thermostat to turn the temperature up when you leave for work and back down before you return. Programmable thermostats are very flexible in that they can store and repeat multiple daily temperature settings that can be manually overridden on an as needed basis without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.
Besides saving energy and money on utility bills,programmable thermostats come with a host of additional benefits including:
- Programmable thermostats are more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats.
- They improve your home’s comfort.
- Programmable thermostats are easily installed and are available in a variety of models.
- They contain no mercury offering more safety for the environment and your family.
Mostprogrammable thermostats are either digital, electromechanical, or a combination of the two. Digital programmable thermostats offer the most features such as multiple setback settings, overrides, and adjustments for daylight savings time; however, electromechanical systems (using pegs or sliding bars) are relatively easy to program as compared to digital. Either way, if you’re looking for ways to save money this summer, you can’t go wrong with any programmable thermostat.
