Programmable Thermostats Can Be a Valuable Tool for Your Home
Do you own a home or property in Martin, Palm Beach or Indian River County? Would you like to save money on the energy you use to cool your home? Programmable thermostats are a valuable tool you can use to control the temperature in the house throughout the day, using energy-saving settings that you program ahead of time, based on your expected daily and weekly schedules. This will reduce the cost of cooling your home in the summer and heating it when it gets cold.
Recent Progress
Standard thermostats require a person to manually adjust the temperature with a dial or digital display. If the person is energy conscious, he or she will set back the temperature (down or up, depending on the season) before leaving the house for the day or going to bed at night. Programmable thermostats allowed the homeowner to anticipate these setback periods ahead of time and program the thermostat accordingly. In the last few years, programmable thermostats have progressed by leaps and bounds, with newer models having a variety of features, including WiFi connectivity. This gives you the ability to adjust and control temperatures from a smart-phone, tablet or computer when not at home.
The Basics
The advanced features of modern programmable thermostats add convenience and versatility. However, the basic utility of a programmable model remains the same – it allows you to program temperature changes based on your daily and weekly schedules. So when you leave for work Monday through Friday, the thermostat can be set to turn the temperature up to 85, for example, while you’re gone, and then return to a comfortable temperature shortly before you expect to return home.
When selecting the thermostat you’ll have the option of choosing a basic model with the same programming every day, a model with one program for weekdays and a separate one for both weekend days, a model with one program for weekdays and then a separate program for each weekend day, and a model that allows a separate program for each day of the week.
Some programmable thermostats include a program to tell the homeowner when the filter on their A/C or heat pump needs to be changed, and display the number of hours the system has been in operation. The most sophisticated digital thermostats have adaptive features that actually “learn” your temperature preferences and adjust themselves accordingly.
For information on programmable thermostats or questions on cooling your South Florida home this summer, please contact us at NisAir Air Conditioning and Heating.
