The thermostat is an essential part of making sure your HVAC system works effectively. However, you should know how to keep your thermostat in the best possible shape so that your HVAC system can give you efficient year-round performance. If you want to save yourself hundreds of dollars in energy costs, you need to learn how to optimize your thermostat.
You should be able to carry out some of the optimization yourself, but for the rest, you’ll need to call in a professional who can help you to get the task done. Here are a few easy ways to optimize your thermostat for energy efficiency and cost savings.
Program the Time
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Some thermostats allow you to set different temperatures for different times of the day. You can use this feature to optimize your thermostat. You should set your thermostat to turn off when you are not at home and turn itself on when you are about to come back home. This way, your thermostat is saving you energy when you are away and keeping you comfortable when you are home.
You can apply the same strategy at night by setting the heater or air conditioner to turn off before you go to bed and turn on again when you are about to wake up in the morning. This way your heater or air conditioner will only be working for about 6 to 10 hours per day, and only during the hours you need it most.
Adjust the Temperature
Most experts suggest that you set the temperature of your thermostat to 68 for the heater and 78 for the air conditioner. You can always adjust the temperature manually if you need more than the set temperature. Setting the temperature a little warmer or cooler than you need it will help you to save more money when you are not using the system.
Turn It Off When on Vacation
The HVAC system is designed to keep you comfortable when you are at home. If you’re not at home, however, you’re not getting any benefit out of leaving it on. In fact, you’re wasting money! You should try to remember to switch off your HVAC system when you are not at home, especially for an extended length of time. However, if you have pets or plants at home that might need the comfort of your HVAC system, you can adjust your HVAC system to run less often without turning it off completely.
Track Your Energy Use
If you have a smart thermostat, you can track your energy usage habits from a connected app on your mobile device. The app tracks your energy habits and provides the report for you. You can use the data from this report to discover areas you can adjust to improve your energy use and save money all year round.
When you start to optimize your thermostat, you can improve your use of energy in your home. You will also be able to keep energy costs low throughout the year.
