Programmable Thermostat Saves Energy And Gives Comfort
The rate of heat transfer from your house to the outside, or vice versa, is dependent partly on the temperature difference between your house and outside. More heat is transferred when the difference is greater, so it takes more energy to keep your house at 72°F when it is 40°F outside than to heat your house back up to 72°F after you return.
With air conditioning systems, the equipment runs at peak efficiency when it operates for long periods. Cooling your house back to the comfortable temperature will use less electricity than the unit would use cycling on and off for short periods to maintain the set temperature. If your house takes too long to get back to a comfortable temperature, you might investigate getting a programmable thermostat, and set it to start heating or cooling your house an hour or so before you return. You could also set the thermostat back, to a lower temperature for heating, or a higher one for cooling, while you are gone, rather than turning it off completely.
Yes, programmable thermostats can reduce the energy used for air conditioning or heating by 5 to 30%. Programmable thermostats, while not always digital, save money by turning the air conditioner to a higher setting (or heater to a lower setting) when no one is present in the house, or in the evenings when it is cooler. You can achieve the same savings without the programmable thermostat, but you would have to remember to change your thermostat every day when you leave the house, and turn it down every night when you go to bed. In addition, if you are using the thermostat to regulate your heater, you would wake to a cold house. The programmable thermostat does all of the remembering for you once it is set. A sample of a heating schedule you might program into a thermostat is:
Wake up 6:00 am - 9:00 am …………68°F
Leave 9:00 am - 5:30 pm ………… 60°F
Evenings 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm………… 68°F
Sleep 11:00 pm - 6:00 am ………… 60°F
This way your house is always comfortable and you can save money on heating. You can make a similar schedule for air conditioning.
Wake up 6:00 am - 9:00 am …………. 75°F
Leave 9:00 am - 5:30 pm ………….. 80°F
Evenings 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm …………. 75°F
Sleep 11:00 pm - 6:00 am …………. 78°F or off