When temperatures are high outside, many people respond by blasting their air conditioning inside to compensate. Then, when the temperature hits 30 degrees in the winter months, many respond by jacking up the heat on their thermostats. While this might provide you comfort, it can be a drain financially. The key to controlling your heating and cooling bill is to find the right thermostat and the right settings.
Adjusting your thermostat properly to match the changes in weather is part art and part science. It requires an understanding of the optimum temperature to keep you comfortable without running up energy bill. The recommended temperature is 68 degrees. However, when it's freezing outside sometimes 68 degrees does not feel warm enough and people often end up raising the temperature on the thermostat. But there are two new options that free people from having to constantly adjust their thermostat. They are programmable thermostats and smart thermostats.
Programmable thermostats allow people to set the most comfortable and cost-effective temperature for both summer and winter. With these thermostats you only set the temperature once and the system adjusts as necessary to keep your home at a comfortable temperature all year long. This ensures that no matter the weather conditions, you will save money and not waste energy. These systems offer a level of convenience not available before.
Controlling your air conditioning and heating cost is important, especially in this difficult economic climate. Dramatic changes in temperature throughout the year means either the air conditioning or heating system will have to be working. With proper planning or through the use of programmable thermostats you can keep your home or business comfortable without your energy costs going through the roof.
With programmable thermostats you can program the settings for blocks of time. They can be set for 8-hour blocks or for blocks as long as 7 days. You can also change the setting if you will be going on vacation and not lose your presets if you have zone heating and cooling; each zone can have its own programmable thermostat. Some of these thermostats even have systems to remind you to change your air filters or alert you of air conditioner or furnace problems. This saves you money on heating and cooling costs and can prevent expensive repairs.
Smart thermostats cost a little more, but they pay for themselves with the money you will save on energy costs. They have presets and zone controls like programmable thermostats, but they also allow for more control of the temperature within your home. There are smart thermostats that can be controlled by computers or smart phones and are touch screen operated. Smart thermostats are learning thermostats that remember your preferences and automatically make the temperature changes you have made in the past. Smart thermostats that use smart grid technology can provide real-time data about energy usage in your home and can make your energy bills more accurate.