Setting your home’s temperature for energy savings while your home is empty during the day can save between 5 and 10 percent off your energy bill during the cold season. It can reap savings in the summer as well. While you’re home during the heating season, a good habit is to dress warmly for comfort, and plan your thermostat’s schedule accordingly, keeping the temperature no higher than 68 degrees. But overnight and when you’re away at work and the kids are at school, setting your home’s temperature to 58 degrees will keep your plants alive and your pipes from freezing without straining your budget.
With a programmable thermostat, you can set the temperature changes ahead of time, and program the heat (or cooling) to return to a comfortable setting shortly before you expect to arrive home or awaken from your overnight sleep.
Keeping the seasonal change in mind, now’s a good time to have your air conditioning and heating system serviced with an energy evaluation by a professional HVAC technician. Preparation will keep you warm, and servicing the A/C will ensure it’s ready for next season. If you’re going to program your thermostat, this is a recommended step to take before the season truly sets in.
In most cases, it’s not recommended to vary your at-home temperature and away temperature by more than 10 degrees. Doing so makes the furnace work harder and longer to return to a comfort level, and in doing so may cancel out your energy conservation efforts.
As part of the technician’s seasonal check, remember to ask them to look over your programmable thermostat. This, almost as critical as your furnace, will not only help keep you warm, but keep your fall and winter energy budget under control.
For more professional advice about setting your home’s temperature and other questions concerning HVAC comfort, please contact us at Ibbotson Heating & Air Conditioning Co. We have been providing quality services for our neighbors in the northwest suburbs of Chicago for over 65 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chicago, Illinois about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home temperatures and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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