Manual or Programmable Thermostat? Why You Should Upgrade

We’ve all had that moment when we’ve looked down at our power bill and realized there must be a better way. When we start making a home energy efficient, we can begin with adjusting habits, and then moving onto cleaning and replacing old heating and HVAC elements. It could be a duct cleaning, or purchasing a new water heater. One thing that can make a big impact that doesn’t have to cost that much at all is replacing your old analog thermostat.

Manual or programmable thermostat

Older homes were constructed with an analog thermostat to do one function, and that was to set the heating levels in the house. This made the home a comfortable place to live, but did little to help with controlling the energy usage. A programmable thermostat can assist by reducing home heating costs up to 40 percent by reducing the heat levels during the day while no one is at home, then raising them to comfortable levels just before the family returns from work and school. All it takes is a 10 degree change to realize substantial savings. A programmable thermostat is easier to read and provides reliable temperature readings. Setting your system to maximize your heating budget will pay off quickly with realized energy savings.

Saving the environment

Another factor to recognize when deciding on a manual or programmable thermostat is the environmental impact. Analog thermostats use mercury to measure the ambient temperature and trigger when the heating kicks in. This is a highly toxic chemical and does not break down to a harmful state when disposed of. Moving to a digital system keeps this toxicity out of the ground and you are doing your part to protect the environment for your future generations. It may seem small, but often the smallest step makes the largest impact.

At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.

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