Programmable thermostats alter your home’s temperature according to a time schedule, making the comfort level more consistent and reducing utility costs. Temperature adjustments are made automatically, by maintaining manufacturer’s preset temperatures for morning, day, evening and night, or by inputting your own custom schedule into the thermostat. Setting your programmable thermostat allows you to schedule a different set of on/off times for weekdays versus weekends, when people are more likely to be home during the day. Many also give you the option to  customize settings for all seven days of the week individually, for maximum flexibility.

A few operating hints for setting your programmable thermostat will make operation easier and maximize energy savings.

• Stick with the preprogrammed settings, if possible. Your programmable thermostat comes with a schedule of settings designed to match optimum comfort level with maximum efficiency. If you decide to alter the settings, raise the preset cooling temperature by four degrees during summer and lower the preset heating temperature by eight degrees when you’re away or asleep in winter.
• Maintain the thermostat’s most energy-efficient set points for long spans of time — up to eight hours, if possible. Daylight hours when no one is home or nighttime after everyone’s gone to sleep are the best opportunities for sticking with the preprogrammed settings that offer the most energy savings.
• Go easy on the “override” option, which makes the thermostat disregard a programmed setting in order to heat up or cool a house on demand. Frequently overriding the programmed schedule uses more energy.
• When setting your programmable thermostat, avoid programming wide swings in temperature quickly: for example, setting the interior temperature down to 40 degrees simple to expedite cooling the house. A programmable thermostat anticipates programmed temperatures and begins operating in advance to gradually reach the desired temperature by the set time. This is the most energy efficient method of raising or lowering the temperature.

Smoky Mountain Heating & Air keeps Asheville residents in the comfort zone through all seasons. Give us a call for more information on programmable thermostats or other energy-saving options.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about setting your programmable thermostat and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Smoky Mountain Heating & Air services Asheville, North Carolina and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!