Saving Energy and Money this Fall with Your Programmabl

Saving Energy and Money this Fall with Your Programmable Thermostat?

November 26, 2015


With furnaces kicking on all over Iowa and the Midwest, now's a good time to think of effective ways to save energy in your household. Installing a programmable thermostat and learning how to program and use it correctly are great ways to get some real savings on energy this fall and winter.

A programmable thermostat differs from a standard manual thermostat in that it allows the homeowner to program energy-saving temperature changes ahead of time. These temperature changes - also called setbacks - are designed to save energy and money while traditional working-family homes are empty during weekdays (when everybody's working or in school) and overnight during the winter. Programmable thermostats also are useful for saving energy during the cooling season; you just program higher temperature setbacks instead of lower ones.

Following is a typical late fall to winter weekday schedule for your new programmable or smart thermostat:

  • The temperature is programmed at a much lower setting when the family heads off to work or school in the morning, perhaps 55 degrees, rather than a comfort setting of around 68 in the winter.
  • The temperature begins returning to that comfort setting shortly before family members are expected to return home in the later afternoon. This way, the house is cozy and warm when everybody is likely to arrive home.
  • The temperature remains at that comfort setting until bedtime, when the thermostat reduces it by several degrees - perhaps from 68 to 60 - for the night. For most people, a cooler temperature is more comfortable for sleeping.
  • Shortly before the household awakens, the thermostat is programmed to return to the comfort temperature. Nobody likes taking a shower in a frigid bathroom. However, if you prefer to skip this step, just leave the setting at the nighttime level, or set it a few degrees lower, for the daytime hours. You'll save more energy and money if you don't warm up the house for a very short period in the morning.

To discuss upgrading your Des Moines area home to a programmable thermostat, please contact us at Lozier Heating & Cooling.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Des Moines, Iowa area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Credit/Copyright Attribution: "Peter Gudella/Shutterstock"