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.