Is Your Thermostat Saving You Money…or Costing You More?

Did you know that you can hack your thermostat to save you money? Okay…maybe it isn’t hacking, but some careful planning and a few degrees can help you save big bucks on your heating and cooling bills. Best of all, using a programmable thermostat, you can create a plan and make these little cost-saving adjustments automatically.

According to the Department of Energy, you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat back 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.

How It Works

The smaller the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall heating and cooling demands will be.  You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. In the summer, try keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away, and setting the thermostat to 78°F (or a setting as high as comfortable for you) when you’re home.

And, although thermostats can be adjusted manually, programmable and smart thermostats can do all that work for you on a schedule that works with yours!

Some Things to Look Out For

• Avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioner. It will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and, therefore, unnecessary expense. 

• A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.

• During winter, the lower the interior temperature, the slower the heat loss. So the longer your house remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you save, because your house has lost less energy than it would have at the higher temperature.

• The same concept applies to raising your thermostat setting in the summer—a higher interior temperature will slow the flow of heat into your house, saving energy on air conditioning.

• And, as always, make sure your home’s comfort systems are in tip-top shape by ensuring you have a clean media filter, and call us at 801-999-4220 to schedule a tune-up or inspection if you think your system may need a little boost in performance.

Video courtesy of the Department of Energy