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Saving energy at home:
Facts and features
of programmable thermostats
Facts
- According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the proper use of a programmable thermostat can cut heating and cooling bills by from 5 to 20 percent.
- Sometimes called a “setback thermostat,” a programmable thermostat lets you set a schedule that will automatically change the temperature of your home—or certain areas of your home—several times during a 24-hour period.
- Some models allow you to set up different programs to fit with your weekend and weekday routines.
Features
Programmable thermostats come with several programming capabilities:
- 7-day models allow you to set different programs for each day of the week and usually permit four possible temperature periods per day. These are best if your daily schedule tends to change from day to day.
- 5+2 models allow one program for Monday through Friday and another for Saturday and Sunday.
- 5+1+1 models allow one program for Monday through Friday, another schedule for Saturday, and still another for Sundays.
Look for an Energy Star-qualified programmable thermostat.
The following is from the Energy Star web site.
All Energy Star-qualified programmable thermostats include:
- Four default program periods a day, allowing you to save money while you're away or sleeping.
- Plus or minus 2-degree accuracy to keep the temperature even and keep you comfortable.
- Digital backlit displays.
- Touch pad screen programming.
- Voice and/or phone programming.
- Hold and vacation features.
- Indicators to remind you to to change air filters on your heating system.
- Indicators that signal malfunctioning heating/cooling systems.
- Adaptive recovery/smart recovery features. These are control features that sense the amount of time required to reach the next set-point temperature so your home reaches the desired temperature on schedule.
Rules of thumb for proper use:
- Keep the temperature set at its energy savings set-points for long periods of time (at least eight hours), for example, during the day when no one is at home and through the night after bedtime.
- All thermostats let you temporarily make an area warmer or cooler without erasing the pre-set programming. This override is cancelled automatically at the next program period. You use more energy (and pay more on energy bills) if you consistently override the pre-programmed settings.
- Units typically have two types of override features:
- hold/permanent/vacation
- temporary
- Avoid using the hold/permanent/vacation feature to manage day-to-day temperature settings. Hold or vacation features are for when you're planning to be away for an extended period. Set this feature at a constant, efficient temperature (i.e. several degrees warmer in summer, several degrees cooler in winter), when going away for the weekend or on vacation. You'll waste energy and money if you leave this feature at the comfort setting while you're away.
- Cranking your unit up to 90 degrees or down to 40 degrees, for example, will not heat or cool your house any faster. Most thermostats, including Energy Star-qualified units, begin to heat or cool at a programmed time to reach set-point temperatures sometime thereafter.
Units with adaptive, smart, or intelligent recovery features are an exception to this rule. They reach desired temperatures by the set time because they use formulas that are based on your historical use.
- Install your unit on an interior wall, away from heating or cooling vents and other sources of heat or drafts (doorways, windows, skylights, direct sunlight, or bright lamps).
- Many homes use just one thermostat to control the whole house. If your home has multiple heating or cooling zones, you'll need a programmable thermostat for each zone to maximize comfort, convenience, and energy savings throughout the house.
- Heating and cooling systems with heat pumps or Electro Industries control packages are compatible with only certain models of programmable thermostats.
Don't forget to change the batteries each year. Some units indicate when batteries must be changed.
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Convenience is one advantage of a programmable thermostat. You just set it and forget it. The temperature changes occur automatically.
Related information
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