Maintain Optimal Thermostat Settings and Save Money on Energy
Energy is expensive. This is especially true nowadays, with fuel prices steadily rising, and as the weather temperatures become more extreme, it will be a fact everyone has to face as they set their thermostats. Even now, however, staying comfortable throughout the hottest (and coldest) days of the year doesn’t have to break the bank. You can save a great deal of money by maintaining optimal thermostat settings.
While you can’t control the cost of energy, you can at least take steps to ensure you are not wasting any: wasted energy, of course, translates directly to wasted money. Here’s how you can maintain comfortable temperatures while saving a great deal of money in the process:
Remember That a Few Degrees Can Make a Big Difference
Most people are in the habit of simply setting the temperature to whatever is most comfortable for them. A few degrees, however, rarely make a difference in terms of comfort, but they can have a major effect on an energy bill. What this means is that turning your air conditioning up by just a degree or two won’t make your home feel too hot, but it may save you a lot of money over time. The same is true with regards to a heater: turning the heater down just a bit can bring a lot of relief to your monthly bill.
When you’re occupying the house, the ideal temperature is around 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Any lower than that, and your air conditioner will have to work extra hard to keep the temperature at your preferred setting. Any higher, and the room may become uncomfortably warm.
Change the Temperature Settings Before Leaving Home
Another major cause of an unnecessarily inflated energy bill is homeowners leaving the HVAC system running at full blast whenever they leave home. On the one hand, it’s understandable since they don’t want to return to a hot, stuffy, uncomfortable house, but on the other hand, leaving the heat or air conditioning on when there are no occupants is extremely wasteful. If you leave your AC on at full blast while everyone in the family is off at work or school, that’s eight hours or more that you are paying for air conditioning while no one is home.
Since you don’t want the house to become unbearable while you are away, your best option in this case is to simply adjust the temperature settings. That is, turn the air conditioner up to around 88 degrees Fahrenheit when you leave or the heater down to around 65. These temperatures are outside of what is normally considered comfortable, but they’re not unbearable: which means that when you do arrive home, you can simply adjust the thermostat back to your preferred temperature and wait a short amount of time for the temperature to return to one that you prefer.
Adjust the Settings at Night Too
By the same token, you can save some money by changing the temperature at night when you sleep, as well. Since you’ll be asleep, you don’t need to have the thermostat set the same as it would be during the day. During these times, the optimal thermostat settings seem to be a few degrees removed from what’s best during the day. Indeed, during the winter, keeping the temperature slightly on the cooler side seems to help the inhabitants of a home to sleep better. During the summer, you can leave the thermostat a little higher: around 82 degrees seems to be the perfect temperature.
Consider a Multi-Zone HVAC System
Changing the settings regularly will only get you so far when it comes to cost savings. You can save even more by taking advantage of modern technology to achieve optimal thermostat settings.
One such technology is known as multi-zone HVAC. Traditionally, HVAC systems operate as one large system that heats or cools the entire home as one unit. Of course, this leads to problems for many families as they often can’t agree on the best temperature.
Multi-zone HVAC systems eliminate a great deal of these problems. By dividing the home up into several zones, each controlled by a different thermostat, they can help to prevent families from arguing about the ideal temperature, as each person can simply retreat to their own zone and set the temperature how they like.
Utilizing a multi-zone HVAC system can also save you money by avoiding using energy to heat or cool rooms that are not currently occupied. We mentioned earlier in this article that you should adjust the temperature settings when you leave home. With a multi-zone HVAC system, you can also adjust the temperature settings of individual rooms when you are not occupying them.
Save Even More By Choosing the Best HVAC Installers in the Business
Finding the optimal thermostat settings is only part of the equation when saving money on your HVAC system: it’s also important to install the right system in the first place. A system that isn’t right for your home will increase your energy bill significantly. For example, if your air conditioner is even slightly too small for your home, it will have to work extra hard to cool the home down. Extra work for the air conditioner means an elevated energy bill.
What’s more, even the best HVAC system requires regular maintenance to continue running. As parts wear out and vents pile up with dust and dirt, your HVAC system will become less effective, forcing it to work harder to achieve the same temperatures. Of course, this, in turn, will also drive your temperature up.
Having your installation, maintenance, and repairs performed by the best HVAC company in the business will save you a fortune over the years. That’s why you should turn to Entek for all your heating and cooling needs. We can help you choose the best HVAC system and advise you of the optimal thermostat settings for it. Afterward, we can also perform regular tune-ups and maintenance so that your HVAC system works at maximum efficiency for as long as possible.
