Choosing a programmable thermostat is a fairly simple process. Knowing what programmable thermostat settings will help you maximize energy savings is also pretty straightforward. There are a few basic guidelines that will help take your energy savings from dismal to great — all year long.

Temperature and time frame are the key factors to keep in mind, providing a foundation for and encouraging increased savings.

Temperature

While you need to balance comfort with energy savings, you’ll get better results the lower you can drop your home’s temperature throughout the day. According to Energy Savers, homeowners can, on average, save 1 percent on heating and cooling bills with every degree they lower the thermostat (in the winter) and raise it (in the summer).

So, you can increase energy savings by setting the thermostat as low as possible in the winter, for instance, when you’re at home, but you can also lock in savings by drastically lowering it during two key times: during the day, if you leave your home for work or school, and at night, while you’re sleeping.

Time frame

In order to ensure energy savings from setting the thermostat back (during times the when you’re sleeping or the home is unoccupied), you need to keep that temperature consistent for a long period of time. Eight hours is generally recommended to overcome the increased energy that your furnace will consume to take your home back to a comfortable temperature.

Keeping the temperature and time frame principles in mind, when choosing a programmable thermostat, you’ll notice that most models have an override setting. This mode is helpful when your schedule suddenly changes, for instance, if you arrive home early and want your home at a comfortable temperature. But use this mode as infrequently as possible, because regularly overriding the system will result in higher energy consumption — and you’ll bypass potential energy savings from regular, consistent setbacks.

Need help choosing a programmable thermostat? Want further guidance to navigate which programmable thermostat settings will result in increased energy savings? Contact San Antonio’s leading HVAC experts at Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning.

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.

Programmable thermostat image via Shutterstock

More and more homeowners are discovering the energy-saving benefits and comfort that result from using programmable thermostats. By programming temperatures to energy-saving settings, you can expect big savings on utility bills without any impact on your home’s comfort. Here’s how:

Choose the right model

Consumers can choose from three basic models, and then program the system to match your lifestyle, or how your family uses your home:

• With the 5+2 model, you can set one program for each day of the week, and one program for the weekend days.
• Another model, the 5-1-1, allows for one weekday setting, but two settings for the weekend.
• The final model, 7-day, gives you the most convenience: it provides a setting for every day of the week.

High-end units will let you program up to a maximum of four temperature periods during the day. For example, set a temperature when you: wake-up; leave for the day; return for dinner; and go to bed. You can maintain ideal comfort levels because you can program the unit to heat or cool your home for a few minutes before you wake up or go to work.

Guidelines for operation

Follow these tips to get maximum usage from programmable thermostats:

• For energy savings, set the thermostat in the summer (or lower in the winter) for at least an eight-hour period.
• If your schedule changes spontaneously, use the override feature to avoid canceling a program and re-entering it again later. Any time you override settings, however, you’ll most likely cancel out energy savings.
• The override feature is ideal for vacations, though.
• Some models come with adaptive technology, where the thermostat senses how long it will take to reach the next programmed temperature setting and adjust when the system will need to come on in order to reach that temperature. As a result, you save more energy because the system responds to weather variables that impact heating and cooling.

Control your home’s comfort and efficiency with the precision tuning that programmable thermostats afford. For help with thermostats or saving energy, contact the experts at Jon Wayne anytime.

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.

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County.  Visit our website to see our special offers to get started today!

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The challenges of keeping a comfortable home at a reasonable cost are ongoing. Fuel and energy prices seem to consistently be on the rise and trying to keep our bills within reason is a struggle. A popular and cost-effective upgrade that reducing those bills is through the use of programmable thermostats.

Programmable thermostats enable us to have a comfortable home when we are there, and reduce energy consumption when we are away. We can program our heating and air to adjust to a higher or lower temperature setting automatically when the home is unoccupied. Then, a short while before coming in, the settings can adjust back to a comfortable range. Once we come in, the home comfort is where it should be.

Programmable thermostats come in three basic types. The simplest is a 5+2 model. This works best for those who have a steady, predictable weekly routine. The thermostat sets itself as the home gets empty and then returns to normal levels for a five day working or school routine. The weekend setting then works independently from the workdays.

The 5+1+1 allows for similar operation but permits Sunday settings to be different from Saturday settings.

The 7-day model works for those whose schedules tend to change daily. These thermostats permit each day to be set to a totally different schedule from another.

Options range from off-site programming by way of phone or Internet to “Hold” settings for vacations and weekends or holidays away.

The wide range of our Texas temperature patterns can result in high energy consumption. The use of programmable thermostats gives more control over the costs of heating and cooling our homes and businesses.

If you need more detailed information on these energy-saving thermostats,our expert staff at Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning can provide in-depth answers to all your questions. We can help you select the best model for your situation and weekly schedule as well as arrange for professional installation.

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.

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

This summer has been just as hot as last year and it looks like another cooling season of sky high electric bills. In San Antonio, the average high temperature in August is almost 95 and that means air conditioners are running constantly to keep homes cool. One way to save on utility bills is to install a programmable thermostat which will control the temperature inside your home when you are not there. Why pay to cool a home when no one is going to be inside?

Programmable thermostats allow you to set the temperature higher during certain parts of the day, like when you are at work or sleeping. They are easy to install and very easy to operate. The digital display makes it simple to program in the temperature you desire and most have up to six different settings per day and separate settings for days during the week and weekends.

After installation of the device, the first thing you must do is set the calendar and the correct time.

The digital display window will cycle through the numbers as you hit the up or down arrow until you get to the correct day and time. A battery back-up in the thermostat will save your settings even if the power goes out. After you have set the time, it is time to start setting the temperature changes that you desire. This will require some thought as you must consider your daily routine and habits.

The first thing to consider is your work hours. Each day during the week when you know you are not going to be home because you are at work, set the house temperature 5 to 10 degrees higher. Program the unit to go back to your home’s normal temperature about an hour before you arrive home from work. If you have a regular sleeping routine, this is another good time to set the temperature a little higher and then have the unit kick back in a few minutes before you get up.

If you do a great deal of cooking you might want to program your thermostat to drop the temperature in your home a few degrees during the dinner hour to combat the effects of turning on the stove. The options that you have with a programmable thermostat are really unlimited and if at any time your home seems too hot or cool, you can manually override the system and change the thermostat setting. How much money will you save by making the switch? The rule of thumb is you save 1% off your bill for every degree that you raise the temperature in the home for 8 hours, the average savings is about 10% per month.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services  San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.

As temperatures heat up this summer, homeowners are looking for ways to save on their utility bills. Electric bills are sky rocketing because the air conditioner is working overtime, but one way you can fight back is by installing a programmable thermostat. Research shows that if you turn up the thermostat when you are not home or when you are sleeping, you can save 10% off your utility bill each month.

If you work outside the home all day, it does not make sense to cool the house when no one is there. A programmable thermostat allows you to adjust the temperature in the home when you are gone and then start to cool it back down just before you come back home. The programmable units allow you to adjust for weekdays and weekends so that you are never sacrificing your comfort.

A programmable thermostat will also allow you to bump up the temperature a few degrees while you sleep. You will not notice the difference inside the home while you are getting your rest but you will notice the adjustment when your next utility bill arrives in the mail. The thermostats are able to record up to six time adjustments each day giving you a number of options to customize the heating and cooling of your home.

The units are not very expensive and will more than pay for themselves in a short period of time. In San Antonio, Texas where the average high temperature in August is almost 95 degrees, you will quickly recover the cost of installing a programmable thermostat. For every degree that you can raise your thermostat during the summer for eight hours you will save 1% off of the electric bill. You will not be sacrificing comfort if you raise the temperature by 5 to 10 degrees when you are out of the house.

All of the programmable units contain a manual override if you find yourself home during one of the times when you have set the system to shutdown. This way you can set it to the temperature that you desire and the system will return to the regular cycle at the next scheduled change. The thermostats run off of electric power but in case your power would go out, they have a battery back-up to preserve all of your settings. You can purchase them from any home improvement store and install them yourself or have your favorite HVAC technician do it for you.

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

Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services San Antonio and the surrounding communities including Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To learn more about our services, check out our website or see our current promotions.