A smart programmable thermostat can pay for itself in a year

A thermostat is a simple device—it’s just a temperature-controlled on/off switch for your heating and cooling system. However, a thermostat can have a major impact on your annual heating and cooling costs; during cold weather set it as low as possible, and during warm weather set it as high as possible—without sacrificing comfort. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, setting back your thermostat by 10 to 15 percent for eight hours a day can reduce your annual heating and cooling bill by as much as ten percent.

Set it and forget it
A programmable thermostat—a thermostat combined with a clock—can handle daily system temperature changes for you automatically, all year long. Once you set a programmable thermo-stat, you can forget it—unless you want to change its program. In fact, some programmable thermostats come preprogrammed from the factory, so you can use the standard program or easily modify it to meet your family’s needs.

For example, during cold-weather months, the thermostat program will cycle the heating system so your home is a comfortable 70° when you get up in the morning—and then allow the temperature to go to 60° during the day while you’re at work. Later, when you arrive home from work, the system will have cooled your home back to 70° again. After you go to bed, the thermostat can lower the temperature a few degrees to save even more energy before repeating the cycle the next day.

Look for these features
The least-expensive (under $40) ENERGY STAR® qualified programmable thermostats are pretty basic and offer a single program with four settings—wake, leave (day), return (night) and sleep—for weekdays and a second program with four settings for the weekend. Some also include a few other features such as battery backup for the program, a monitor that indicates when to change the furnace filter and a temporary program override to use, for example, if you stay home from work.

However, if your budget allows, spend $50-$100 (or more) for a smart programmable thermostat. A “7-day” smart thermostat, for instance, will let you set a separate program for each day of the week. Some upscale thermostats offer six programs per day, automatic switching between heating and cooling modes and one-button hold temperature and vacation settings.

In addition, several thermostats include a separate program for the blower fan, as well as offering control of a whole-house humidifier (for winter), a variable-speed fan blower (for humidity control during summer) or a fresh-air ventilator (year-round). You even can remove most programmable thermostats from the wall to program them—and a couple come with remote controls, so you can change thermostat settings from anywhere in your home.

Finally, look for a thermostat with an advanced recovery or “ramping” feature that helps your heating and cooling system deliver the correct temperature at the right time, in the most economical way possible. This feature monitors indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity and gradually brings your home to the requested temperature (usually over a period of hours), so the system doesn’t have to deal with a large temperature shift all at once.

Install it yourself
Many thermostats—from the simplest, inexpensive ones to the high-end, programmable units—are designed for do-it-yourself installation. Just turn off the power to your heating and cooling system, remove the old thermostat and attach the existing system wires to the correct terminals on the new thermostat. However, if the wires aren’t color-coded or the new thermostat requires additional wires, call a professional installer for help.

Get more information
The material in this article was adapted from a new book, Home Heating and Cooling, just released by the Iowa Energy Center. Besides offering much more detail on the topics discussed here, this book also covers making the most of your heating and air-conditioning system, discusses landscaping your yard for year-round comfort and lists many sources of additional information on energy-saving topics.

The first book in the series, Home Tightening, Insulation and Ventilation, was released last summer and is still available. To get your free copy of one or both of these books:

• Call your utility company to see if you can stop by the office and pick up a copy;
• Download a PDF copy at the Iowa Energy Center Web site: www.energy.iastate.edu/;
• Request a copy by e-mailing the Iowa Energy Center at iec@energy.iastate.edu; or
• Call the Iowa Energy Center at 515-294-8819 to ask for a copy by mail.

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Contact:
Amy Swenson, Iowa Energy Center, (515) 294-4391, swenson@energy.iastate.edu