Did you install programmable thermostats to help your home save a little more on energy this year? Just installing the thermostats isn’t going to be enough to trim your power bill, though. You also need to know how to program them to maximize their energy-saving potential.
Programming energy savings into your programmable thermostats
The idea of a programmable thermostat is that you can make the heating in your home automatically adjust to your preferences when you are in it, and to energy-saving temperatures when you aren’t. Here’s a quick guide for setting those programmable thermostats to help you save a little cash this winter.
Program a heated wake-up call
You’ll want to get your home up to its comfortable temperature (recommended between 20-22 degrees Celsius) by the time everyone starts getting up in the morning. It’ll start heating the house a little earlier to get it to the right temperature by the desired time.
Don’t forget the cool-down while you are away from home
Do you go to work for the day? There’s no reason to keep paying to heat your house when no one’s in it. Program the time you usually leave into your programmable thermostats and set the temperature during that time to at least a few degrees cooler. The more you decrease the heat, the more you’ll save. Just remember to keep the house above 13 degrees Celsius so your pipes don’t freeze. Remember, even decreasing your home’s temperature by one degree for an eight-hour period can drop your energy bill by 1 per cent!
Heat the house back up for the time you usually get home
If you have kids getting home from school before you get home from work, you’ll want to set your programmable thermostats to warm the place up for when they get home. For instance, setting the thermostat to 20 degrees Celsius for when they get home at 4:30 pm should keep everyone warm and happy. You can always program in individual days of the week (and weekends) if there are variations to your schedule.
Don’t just turn out the lights when you go to bed
You don’t need the heat to be as high when you are sleeping, so pick a time when you usually head to bed and set your programmable thermostats to drop the temperature by a couple degrees. You’ll be saving with your eyes closed.
Don’t forget about your holidays!
If you are going to be away from home for a length of time this winter, make sure you make the proper adjustments to your programmable thermostats. You don’t want to turn your heat off completely, but you can turn your heat down to as low as 13 degrees Celsius. You can also invest in technology that will sync your thermostat to your smartphone, so you can turn the heat back up remotely when you are on your way home.
More tips for saving money with your programmable thermostat
We Canadians tend to toughen up a bit over the course of the winter. We acclimatize to lower temperatures, so make sure you incorporate that into your programmable thermostat by making periodic adjustments to your high and low temps. Over the course of the winter, you may find the comfortable temperature in your home drops from 22 to 19 degrees Celsius, saving even more this winter.
