Saving energy at home:
Programmable thermostats

Looking for a convenient and inexpensive way to cut energy costs? Look into an electronic programmable thermostat. Sometimes called a setback thermostat, a programmable thermostat lets you set a schedule that automatically changes the temperature of your home, or certain areas of your home, several times during a 24-hour period.

How much might you save?

Programming your thermostat to lower the temperature five to ten degrees in the winter and to increase the temperature in the summer at night or when you're not at home results in significant savings. According to the Department of Energy, a programmable thermostat can cut heating and cooling bills 5 percent to 20 percent.

A home's heat loss directly depends on the difference between outside and inside temperatures. Lower your temperature difference and you directly lower the energy used to heat your home. As a rule of thumb, you save 1 percent for every degree you set back your thermostat for an eight-hour period. If you set it back ten degrees for the eight hours you're at work or ten degrees for eight hours at night, you save 10 percent on your heating costs.

Some of today's programmable thermostats cost less than $65. Even at that price, some allow you to set four different temperatures during a 24-hour period and to create separate weekend schedules. Much easier to program and more accurate than earlier models, most have a battery backup to maintain your settings if power should fail.

The Nelson home

Scott Nelson, print and mail services department manager at Otter Tail Power Company, is an enthusiastic proponent of the programmable thermostat—so much so that he has five of them in his home.

Nelson and his wife Debi live in a beautiful old three-story 22-room home that they've spent nearly 20 years remodeling. An electric and natural gas dual-fuel system heats the first and second floors, and the third floor has electric baseboard heat. With multiple heating and cooling systems and so much space to condition, the Nelsons use their programmable thermostats to create zones, each of which is heated or cooled to a different temperature. A real money saver!

“It doesn't make much sense to maintain at-home temperatures when we're not home,” says Nelson. “We set the thermostats to fit our schedule.”

What about weekends? “Well, here's the great part,” says Nelson. “Our thermostats have weekend settings so we set them for 65 degrees during the day and 60 degrees at night. Setting them is simple. And once they're set, we can forget them.”

The Nelsons have depended on programmable thermostats for about ten years. “We've had absolutely no trouble with any of them,” he says. “The only maintenance we perform is changing batteries once a year.”

Is a programmable thermostat right for you?

If the Nelsons' settings seem a bit low for you, remember that you'll save even if you maintain a higher daytime/at-home setting, as long as you program a lower setting at night and when you're not at home.

Clearly, Scott and Debi Nelson are pleased with their programmable thermostats. Could a programmable thermostat save money for you? To decide, first determine the number of heating/cooling zones your want to create. Then select the thermostat that has the features you need. Some features you might look for include:

Electronic programmable thermostats are available at nearly any hardware, appliance, or home-improvement store. And at about $65, a programmable thermostat more than will pay for itself in one heating season.

This article first appeared in Lake and Home Magazine, Dec/Jan 2004.

Convenience is another advantage of a programmable thermostat. You just set it and forget it. The temperature changes occur automatically.

Scott and Debi Nelson use five programmable thermostats to reduce energy costs in their three-story 22-room home. Chances are you won't need that many.

Scott Nelson and Warren, one of the Nelsons' five cats, are enthusiastic proponents of programmable thermostats.

• Facts and features of programmable thermostats
• Energy Star programmable thermostats