With the heating season here, it’s time to make sure that you are getting the most savings possible from your programmable thermostat. Using your settings properly can help you save more money than you may have thought possible without sacrificing any comfort.

Most homeowners who have programmable thermostats know that the main benefit comes from the fact that they revolve around your daily schedule. You can set your system back about eight degrees during the day when you are at work and then have it go back up to normal shortly before you return home. This keeps you from wasting energy and money to keep an empty house comfortable for eight or more hours a day.

But that’s just one part of the day. If you break your day into four phases — as many modern programmable thermostats already do — you can find other opportunities for savings. For example, you can set the system back about four degrees when you are sleeping and save hours of energy. Then you can have it set to your ideal temperature during the morning and evening. Don’t try to have more than four phases during a day, though, as that can reduce overall efficiency.

You can also set a different schedule if your activities change from day to day. If something comes up where you want to make a one-time change, simply use the “temporary hold” feature to cancel the next programmed period. It will revert back to the schedule once that period has passed.

The “vacation hold” is similar but intended for a longer duration. As the name implies, this lets you set another schedule while you are away for days at a time, such as on a vacation.

To learn more about the settings and various benefits of programmable thermostats, contact Ibbotson Heating & Air Conditioning Co.today. We have proudly served the northwest area of Chicago for more than 65 years.

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

Ibbotson Heating & Air Conditioning Co. services Arlington Heights, Illinois and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!