Save Money with a Programmable Thermostat

There many myths floating around about saving money by raising and lowering your thermostat while you are away from home or asleep. As with most things, the simplest answer is the only true answer. If you lower your thermostat during the winter for any length of time you will save money and if you raise your thermostat during the summer for any length of time, you will save money. The only exception to this rule is when an electric heat pump is used. Electric heat pump thermostats use resistance heating when the call for heat is too great for the heat pump to provide in a short period of time. For example, if in the winter time you lower your thermostat to 60 degrees while you sleep, then raise it to 70 when you wake-up, the thermostat will engage resistance heating to help the heat pump. Resistance heating is the most expensive of all forms of heat so such drastic adjustments are not recommended when heat pumps are used. However, an adjustment of 1-2 degrees can be implemented using a heat pump system without risking excess expense since such a minimal change will not engage resistance heating under most circumstances. As previously stated any temperature adjustment will save money. However, most people do not adjust their theromstats at night or when away because they do not want to wake-up or come home to a cold or hot house. Programmable thermostats are the solution to this problem. By installing a programmable thermostat, homeowners can enjoy a compfortable home when they are a awake and at home and also enjoy energy savings when they are asleep and away. An additonal benefit of most programmable thermostats is that they have a "Refresh" or "Recirculate" function which runs the fan periodically whether air conditioning is needed or not. This results in a more uniform temperature throughout the house even during months when almost no temperature adjustment is needed due to mild outdoor air temperatures. This also helps filter the house air during those same months when with a standard thermostat, the air would almost never be filtered. Programmable thermostats range in price from $30-$150 but for around $80 a good programmable touch-screen thermostat can be purchased. Installation is straight forward and should take no more than 30 minutes and then your savings begin.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com