Operating programmable thermostats is easy if you understand the features this energy saving technology offers.
Because the goal of a programmable thermostat is to save energy and therefore money, try to find a large amount of time (around 8 hours), when you don’t have a need for heating or cooling. This time period occurs most often during the day, when the kids are at school and parents are at work, or at night when the family is sleeping. Properly used, a programmable thermostat saves around 10% on energy bills.
To make sure that you will get the most out of your programmable thermostat, choose the model that works with your schedule. A 7-day programmable thermostat allows you to set a different heating and cooling schedule for each day of the week. While it will be something of a pain to set, this should be a once or twice occurrence and the thermostat will do the rest.
If you have the same schedule on weekdays and a different one for the weekends, a 5 + 2 day model may e right for you. You can program one schedule for the weekdays and another for the weekends.
If your schedule varies on the weekends, but is the same for each day of the week, a 5 – 1 – 1 programmable thermostat is likely right for you.
To make sure that your programmable thermostat reading is not affected by outside sources, follow the manufacturer’s directions during installation and place it in a central location, away from drafts, doors, windows, skylights and direct sun exposure.
The typical programmable thermostat offers the following energy saving features:
- Manual Override: If your schedule changes, you can manually change the thermostat’s schedule, without affecting the other programs
- Vacation Override: When you go away, you can set the program to temporarily override your usual settings while you are on vacation, without having to reset everything entirely when you get back
- Keyboard Lock: Once you have set your programs, you can lock the keyboard to prevent further changes
- Battery Indicator: Most programmable thermostats have a battery light indicator so that you can change the battery before it runs out of juice, making it necessary to reset the entire system
- Filter Change Indicator: A clean filter is important for maintaining indoor air quality and a filter change indicator helps remind you when to clean or change the filter
- Auto Season Changeover: Because your heating and cooling needs are different, depending on the season, the Auto Season Changeover feature automatically adjusts the settings according to the season
- Energy Monitor: The Energy Monitor feature tracks the hours your system has run for the time period that you select
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about operating programmable thermostats and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Home Comfort services the Mishawaka/South Bend areas of Indiana.