How Should I Set My Thermostat for When I’m At Work?

For many hours a day you’re away at work, or possibly at school. Yet your HVAC system continues to run, despite the house being empty. This uses up a good deal of energy and feels like wasting money. You can significantly reduce this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down before you leave for work and adjusting it back to your preferred temperature when you return home. But how much should you adjust the temperature? 

Here’s what the Department of Energy suggests about thermostat settings: 

You can save around 10% a year on heating and cooling bills by just turning your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day compared to its usual setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in more temperate climates than for those in more extreme climates. 

The smaller the variation between the both temperatures, the more affordable your complete cooling bill should be. You can comfortably save energy during the winter by lowering the thermostat to around 68°F while you’re awake and adjusting it lower while you’re in bed or away from home. For summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are gone and tweaking the thermostat to a setting as warm as you can manage comfortably when you return and want cooling and to provide humidity control if required. 

You may have been told that these kinds of adjustments are not worth the effort because your heating and cooling has to work even harder to go back to your preferred temperature, undoing your savings, but the energy department puts that notion to rest, namely for a furnace: “A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.” 

Programmable and Smart Thermostats 

Regardless of the benefits of changing your thermostat any time you leave for work, it’s very easy to forget in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one advantage of programmable and smart thermostats. You can direct your thermostat to automatically change to a different temperature across your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is particularly helpful if you’ve neglected to change the setting before leaving for a trip. 

Remember the Pets 

If you have a pet, consider their comfort too. Cats and dogs with dense fur won’t be as happy with high temperatures. And pets with short fur might not be happy with cold temperatures. The same is true of tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Because temperature preferences deviate significantly by breed and species, look them up for your pets. 

Other Advantages of Changing Your Thermostat for When You’re Away 

• Carbon emissions – The more you run your HVAC system, the more carbon emissions you produce. Conserving energy decreases air pollution and greenhouse gasses. 
• HVAC Longevity – Demanding too much from your HVAC unit can diminish its longevity and cause additional maintenance to be required. It also means the air filter can clog up sooner, making your air less clean. 

If you have any concerns about your air conditioner features, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, call the specialists at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning, a big company with hometown heart. We’re serious about making the world a comfortable place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we have a lot of pride in keeping our customers and communities comfy and contented. 

Experts — it’s in the name and central to our work. We strive to help each member of our staff develop into a skilled professional. We hire the best and provide instruction, opportunities and support, so our staff can learn, grow and be equipped for any challenge they’re faced with. 

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Our combination of company size and individual expertise means we can accomplish more with the next great idea … which may come from anywhere and anyone. We are helping transform the industry by utilizing each team member’s best ideas. That means our teams and customers can rest assured we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long run, through the busiest times and beyond. 

We are Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning! Offering strength, knowledge and support over every season.