Over the course of the summer, most homeowners are trapped in a back-and-forth struggle with the thermostat. On one side of the spectrum is attempting to keep the thermostat set as high as possible to try to save on utility costs. But then again, it sure is nice to feel cool when the temperature outside steadily increases to brutal levels.
In a lot of ways, thermostat balance is a year-round problem because energy efficiency and comfort have to be addressed in winter weather as well. A good way to lower utility bills but also feel cool in the summer is with a programmable thermostat—a cost-effective, easy-to-implement piece of equipment that brings with it many different benefits. Here are some listed below.
FEWER UTILITY COSTS
One of the most frustrating wastes of energy is when the air conditioner is kept low at times when it’s not required like when people are off to work, outdoors or when they are asleep. Many people are diligent about turning the A/C off when they leave for long stretches of time, but a programmable thermostat all but discards any risk of forgetfulness and automatically sets itself to a more practical temperature at off-peak times.
MORE COMFORTABLE
Naturally one of the irritating things about turning the air conditioner off for the day when you leave is that you come back to a hot and stuffy house. A programmable thermostat can be directed to lower the temperature in the house about 30 minutes before you return home so that you come inside to a cool, comfy environment.
CONVENIENCE
Programmable thermostats truly are a “set it and forget it” appliance as many of them have options for either 7-day (different times for each day), 5 + 2 (weekday and weekend settings) and 5-1-1 (weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays) schedules. Additionally, with the touchscreen technology thermostats are pretty easy to set up and they can be installed perfectly by a qualified HVAC technician. Modern programmable thermostats can even be controlled using your smartphone and grant complete control over your home comfort anytime, day or night.
AFFORDABLE
The simplest programmable thermostats retail for around $20 and generally demand less than an hour of labor to be installed. In addition, whatever the initial investment is can be replenished rather promptly with the 10%30% reduction in monthly bills that the programmable thermostats can offer.
If anything, the installation of a programmable thermostat is the first step in optimizing the efficiency of a home. Projects that follow might involve sealing up any gaps around doors, upgrading windows and bolstering wall insulation. It’s not unheard of to save 50% from what you’re paying in heating and cooling bills now and all that is lost profits the more time that’s wasted.
So in essence, if you don’t already own one, buy a programmable thermostat today!
Some popular thermostats to choose from: