Reasons to Switch to a Programmable Thermostat

A programmable thermostat or a smart thermostat could be one way to save on your heating and cooling expenses. You could save money in the short term and over the long term. New thermostats give owners precise and easy control over their home climate. Programmable thermostats are easier to install and learn to use than ever. There are a lot of good reasons to switch to a new thermostat, no matter the system or brand you’ve got in your home.

Programmable thermostats are new, easy-to-use technology for heating and cooling. Should you switch to a smart or programmable thermostat? Here are some easy, even money-saving aspects you might like to consider.

Exact Climate Control

Using a programmable thermostat gives you the ability to make automatic changes or make changes without having to literally be there at the thermostat. With a manual thermostat, if you can’t change it at the best time, the house will be too hot or too cold, then when you’re changing it later, the system is running too hard or too much. This is costing money and you’re not comfortable at the same time. This won’t occur with a programmable thermostat. Your system will stay on the temperature you set it to.

Save Money

You can likely save money right away. When you make an AC unit a degree warmer, or the heat a degree cooler, it is estimated to decrease you energy bill by 2%. With a new thermostat, your system should run more efficiently and stay on the setting you choose. This means less changing the temperature to “catch up.” It is easy to pay less right away on utility bills.

Save Money Over Time

You can help your budget out more by setting a programmable thermostat to run when you need it and run less when you don’t, as in when no one is home. It’s possible to cut a system’s energy usage by 20-30%. If you have stretches, from during the day when no one’s home up to vacations or whole days or weeks with no one there, a programmable thermostat could be a good choice for this reason alone.

Save Money Over the Years

This savings will come over the long haul, but it could be the most savings of all. No matter how you use a manual thermostat, and do a good job on maintenance and service, you could be running the heat and AC more than you need. This adds up over the years of an HVAC system. If the system you have is more efficient, it can add years to its span. You’ll have fewer repairs and extra years without the big expense of installing a complete system, just by switching to an upgraded thermostat.

Better, Easier Comfort

When you program the temperature in your house so exactly, with no opportunity for variance, you can ensure round-the-clock and year-around comfort and convenience. It’s easy to put in a thermostat that controls your heating and cooling systems on an exact, set schedule. You won’t need to make any manual adjustments. You’ll be able to change and control your climate settings with a remote control, a phone, by wifi or manually, if you still prefer.

Save Time

If you still have a manual thermostat, it means you’d have to be up and ready to change the thermostat 24 hours a day to get the perfect mix of home comfort and energy (cost) efficiency. With a programmable thermostat, your system will run its best when you set it and forget it. This will save time just as much as it’s saving money and energy.

Control it from Anywhere

Smart thermostats, with a phone or wifi controls, can change your heat or AC from anywhere, anytime, for any reason imaginable. You do not need to be near your thermostat, or house or network, to do everything. Smart thermostats can turn on or off heat or AC, so if you’re going to be gone longer, or back sooner, than expected, you can set the system to what you need.

You Can Get Alerts

Smart thermostats can be programmed to send reports and alerts to you. The alerts can be for severe weather, energy usage, system functioning, outages, plumbing damage and security reasons.

Programming a Programmable Thermostat

If you’ve never used a programmable thermostat before, you can ask all the questions you need before, during and after installation. It’s easy to save money on utilities and be comfortable.

The U.S. Department of Energy has guidelines for thermostats. These guidelines are meant to save energy and money. The U.S. Department of Energy says these programming ideas will save about 15% on energy expenses in a year. The government says:

1. Thermostats should be set to 68 degrees in winter. You should decrease the temperature 10-15 degrees while you’re asleep or out of the house.
2. You should set the thermostat to 78 degrees in the summer. You should turn the AC off when you’re out of the house. You should increase the temperature 3-5 degrees when you’re asleep.
3. You should program the heat or cooling to turn on and begin changing the indoor temperature about 20-30 minutes before you get home or leave. You can program it to start changing about one hour before you go to sleep, then about 30 minutes before you usually wake up.

At South End Heating and Air we specialize in HVAC and furnace repair, call us for a free consult. We’ll evaluate your system and help make recommendations for optimum value. After all, we want to keep you cool all summer long and warm in the winter. Just schedule a visit with one of our technicians to talk about how we can help with your heating needs. Would you like to learn more options our techs can help you with? Give us a call 704-684-5339.