Should You Use Programming with a Heat Pump?

                Programmable thermostats have become increasingly popular over time.  The ability to set it and forget it regarding the temperature in your home is a feature which has made itself almost a necessity in our face paced and fully automated world.  How does setting a programmable thermostat affect your heating and cooling bill?  Are you really getting the most efficient use of you system with the ability to set the temperature you want and leave it alone?

                With many systems, all of the heating systems will engage when the temperature drops below the preset allowable temperature.  This means the main heat and auxiliary heat have both been engaged in the system which causes an increase in the heating bill.  Using a programmable thermostat, while providing you with the comfort you want, can actually cause you to spend more money on the heating bill than without it.

                What this also can mean is if you choose not to have a programmable thermostat you might have to set temperatures that will keep the system from running unnecessarily when the home is unoccupied.  This can become a real hassle for most people, and I’m sure you will have a very hard time selling many of you customers on the idea they have to adjust their system on a daily basis.

                Even if someone is willing to set their thermostat daily to ensure the least amount of system operation while they are at work, what happens when they forget to do this?  Most likely they are then going to be upset with themselves for having a system that is not using a programmable thermostat and even worse, probably be upset with you for selling this nuisance to them, that won’t be very good for your word of mouth advertising at all.

                Pro1 has come up with a fantastic solution to this problem.  They have a wide variety of thermostats that utilize a feature called Satisfy Setpoint.  By using the Satisfy Setpoint feature of the Pro1 thermostat your clients can have the luxury of a programmable thermostat, without having the increase in their heating bill associated with the entire system operating when it doesn’t need to.

                With the Satisfy Setpoint feature of the Pro1 thermostats the main heat system will engage when necessary, but the auxiliary will not engage to start with.  The feature allows the main heat system to be responsible for bringing the temperature back up to the desired point without engaging the auxiliary for a selected time period.

                This can be a huge advantage for your customers as well as a great selling point for you when preparing to install the thermostats in your clients’ homes.  Many homeowners today are under the impression using a heat pump is supposed to be this major energy savings all by itself, but how much better will they feel when you tell them they can save even more with the Pro1 line of thermostats armed with Satisfy Setpoint.

                At this point you might be wondering when the auxiliary heat is going to kick in, is the time period adjustable or is it only a set time for all systems that really doesn’t show a savings?  The reality is the time period can be set to a wide variety of times.  The main heat will be afforded the opportunity to return the home to the correct temperature from as little as five minutes and as many as ninety with several selections in between.  In addition, this is a feature your customers can set for themselves so they don’t have to be stuck with a setting you gave them if it’s not really working for them. 

                By having the ability to set the time for the delay in auxiliary heat themselves, you won’t have to make unnecessary trips to their home just to adjust settings until they get used to the way the new system works, that can be a real problem for you and them, wasting your time and energy to do something that they now are able to do for themselves.  In fact, if the homeowner doesn’t like the Satisfy Setpoint feature, they can even turn it off and allow the main and auxiliary systems to bring the temperature up more quickly.

                By creating the Satisfy Setpoint feature on many of their thermostats, Pro1 has provided the installers of thermostats and heating systems the ability to provide their customers an even larger savings than ever before when using a heat pump system.  No more does a homeowner have to worry about whether or not their system is running when they aren’t home as long as they have set their program correctly the delay in auxiliary heat operation provided by the Satisfy Setpoint feature will keep a customer’s heating bill down and your word of mouth advertising up.

I am sick of customers thinking they are getting ripped off because they see the Honeywell thermostat I installed at Home Depot at a lower cost than I charge? Are there any other options out there?

                This can be a real problem for many the builder or contractor.  As many builders will actually build in the prices not only of the labor, but also of the loading and hauling of materials into the quote for a job, it’s really hard to have to explain to your customers why they see a price difference in any part of the building or remodeling process from what is in the store.

                Unless you specifically include a separate line on your invoices for these fees and services, you might be stuck having to explain to homeowner after homeowner why they see the stuff you install cheaper somewhere else.  Couple that with frequent sales at the retailers; the ability of homeowners to shop your materials online; and this can become a real pricing nightmare for any contractor or builder.

                The ability to purchase great thermostats at reasonable prices and not have to deal with customers shopping you around to every retailer out there is a great comfort provided by Pro1.  Pro1 sells their thermostats exclusively to the business professional, contractors and builders, and backs them all with fantastic warranties.

                No longer do you need to worry about how you need to price the thermostat, instead you can charge what you are comfortable charging for the product and not have to worry about facing an angry customer when they find out what you really paid for it.  Unfortunately it seems many customers don’t understand everyone has a need to make a living and the only way you the builder are going to be able to do this is to mark up the materials; with Pro1 thermostats, that problem has been solved.

                Now you might wonder are the Pro1 thermostats of good quality.  These thermostats are top of the line and are backed by the manufacturer with a full five year warranty.  There is seldom a need to order a replacement due to defects or stoppage in operation, allowing you to put your own warranty on the work as well.  With such a great backing by the company, you can be assured there won’t be a lot of free trips to homeowners to fix or replace their thermostats; thus keeping you working on new projects instead of having to visit old ones.

                As far as variety, Pro1 has that and then some.  With over 45 different variations of just thermostats you are sure to find one that will meet you client’s needs.  Whether you are building an entire new construction neighborhood or just an addition to a single home, Pro1 has what you need and allows you the flexibility of ordering in bulk, or just a single unit at a time.

                When was the last time you were able to put your name on a thermostat?  When you install products in homes or businesses, usually the only name on the product is that of the manufacturer forget the guy who installed it professionally, well not anymore.  With the PRO1 thermostats you can actually advertise your company so you are in the fore thought of your customers and potentially their friends.

                When a customer of yours is happy with the work you did, and maybe they are unable to remember your information to pass along to their dinner guests, or buddies who came over to watch the big game, you can now provide them a way to give your information right on the thermostat with the Pro1 Private Label Program.  Simply remove the magnetic Pro1 Company badge and replace it with your own newly printed magnetic badge and you have some great advertising.  Seldom do you see a company support the contractors in this way to provide them a way to advertise for themselves.

                Another small benefit to using the Pro1 thermostats is their Loyalty Points Program.  With this program all you have to do is mail in the box flaps from the thermostats and you earn points.  The prizes you can receive range from a sharp looking cap to a $50 gift card to Cabela’s or Best Buy.  How cool is that; just for using their products Pro1 will give you some fun prizes as well.

                With the Pro1 line of thermostats you as the business professional can really take care of your customers’ needs.  With a great line of products that is sure to please any homeowner, backed by their five year warranty, you can rest assured when the job is done, it is truly done and you will be able to take full advantage of the benefits of the Pro1 Private Label and Loyalty Points Programs. 

How Much Does a Thermostat Really Impact Your Energy Bill?

                We hear all the time about how important it is to utilize the set it and forget it benefits of a programmable thermostat to ensure the heating and cooling systems for our homes are not operating when they really shouldn’t be, but what does that really mean?  On top of this quandary, how much of a savings can you really experience with a good programmable thermostat?

                In a typical home, the residents are using energy for just about every facet of their lives.  We all have washer and dryers that either use gas or electricity, stoves and ovens, refrigerators, microwaves, water heaters, and the many lights throughout the home.  Add to this most homes have several televisions, DVD players, satellite or cable boxes, computers, and even the smaller kitchen appliances.  With almost every member in most households now having their own cell phones, we have to remember charging these devices also uses up energy.

                With such a long list, it might surprise you to find out that even in a home that has a ton of gadgets and gizmos, the heating and cooling system still accounts for as much as 40% of the entire energy bill.  That’s is nearly half and that is with all the energy sucking devices listed above, so doesn’t it make sense to find a way to cut that 40% as much as possible?

                With a good programmable thermostat, you can experience a great deal of savings in your energy bill throughout the year.  By having the ability to set a thermostat to run more efficiently, the amount of running time will be reduced greatly which saves in the wear and tear on the system as well as the amount it has to run to keep the home at an optimal temperature.

                Without a programmable thermostat, the homeowner would need to remember to change the settings on a daily basis to ensure the system isn’t running when the home isn’t occupied.  This can become a real hassle for most people as they might be in a rush and forget to change the set temperature before leaving for the day.

                All this said might not make you think a good programmable thermostat is going to change anything at all for your decision, but let me paint a small picture for you.  If your average energy bill for an entire year is $5000 and 40% of that is for the heating and cooling system that means you are spending $2000 per year on just that system.  If we were able to reduce that amount by 10% just by having a good programmable thermostat installed, you would save at least $200 over the course of a year.

                That might not sound like a lot of savings, but it could mean you get to take your spouse to dinner a couple more times, see a couple more movies in the year, or even buy tickets to a sporting event you have wanted to see, all because you were smart enough to have a good programmable thermostat installed.

                The way a programmable thermostat works is to allow the homeowner to choose settings based on when they actually occupy the home.  If you have a nine to five job and no one is at the home during these hours, why would you need to keep the temperature at a comfortable setting all day long?  Instead you can set the program to not allow the system to turn on unless a below average temperature is reached in the home, thus reducing the frequency with which the system operates.  How this would affect the weekends, when you are home is to allow you to have setting that can be programmed for the weekend.

                Pro1, one of the leading manufacturers of thermostats has a ton of choices for anyone looking to get a great programmable thermostat.  Their settings can be set at either a 5/1/1 or 7-day settings depending on your busy schedule.  This means you can have the settings for Monday through Friday set differently than on Saturday and Sunday, or set up a different setting for each day of the week if you happen to be a person who is home more during the week or has an alternating schedule.

                Another savings that Pro1 has built into some of their thermostats is called Satisfy Setpoint.  With this feature the main heating system will have the opportunity to reach the desired set point before the auxiliary heat ever comes on.  This could become a second way you can save even more money on that energy bill.

                With a good programmable thermostat, you can have the climate of your home set for your best comfort when home, but also ensure the most efficient use of the system when you are not home.  No wonder programmable thermostats are an extremely popular choice for many homeowners looking to find some energy savings wherever they can.