Is your thermostat a 20th-century relic? Maybe you don’t really see a reason why you should replace it. After all, this analog or old-timey digital device still works, doesn’t it? The heat and cooling come on and off — although for either the analog or the digital, you’ve got to get up and adjust the temperature if it gets too warm or too cool in the home. In fact, you’re always having to fiddle with it to get the temperature just right. Sometimes you forget to change the temperature before bedtime; in the middle of the night, you may realize that the heating is coming on more frequently than you need it to, so you get out of bed and stagger over to the thermostat.
Now wait a minute. You don’t have to do this daily — or nightly — dance with temperatures. You could have a thermostat that’s programmable.
Are there advantages to programmable technology that could be working for you? What are they? And what are the cons?
What Are Programmable Thermostats?
Programmable thermostats are a type of device that permits programming in different modes: daily, which allows a different schedule for each day of the week; weekly, which uses an identical schedule every day; or weekday/weekend (either 5/2 or 5/1/1), which allows one schedule for weekdays and another for weekends, with the 5/1/1 allowing for different schedules on Saturday and Sunday.
To save money with programmable technology, you must set schedules that lower energy use when the household is asleep or you’re away from home. This type of energy schedule is more rigorous than when you’re manually resetting each time someone wants a temperature change. Your family needs to leave the thermostat alone so that the HVAC will run as programmed and so you can realize energy savings. It’s really better if it’s locked, in fact.
Beyond programmable technology, you may want to look into Wi-Fi or smart thermostats, which can be adjusted from nearby or far away. However, these programmable thermostats are a lot more expensive than other types.
For more on a programmable thermostat, contact Ace Hardware Home Services.
