A Programmable Thermostat Ups the Ante on Energy Savings

A programmable thermostat adjusts heating and cooling to the specific needs of your household schedule, matching energy efficiency with optimal comfort. Programmed system settings automatically accommodate the times of greatest household activity, as well as provide the greatest energy efficiency during hours when the house is unoccupied or when residents are sleeping. No amount of user adjustments on an old-school manual thermostat can match the continuous monitoring and consistent control of temperature settings provided by a programmable unit.

Programmable thermostats make temperature adjustments very gradually over a long period, arriving at the exact temperature setting at the exact programmed time. This executes heating and cooling changes in the most efficient way. Most units maintain a memory of the time necessary to achieve specific settings and maintain a consistent temperature, continuously fine-tuning adjustments to produce the greatest energy savings. Other features include a temporary hold function to override programmed settings for a short period and a vacation hold to shift the system into a maximum energy-saving mode for a span of several days or weeks.

Programmable thermostats come in three types, based on available programming modes:

• 7-day units offer different programmed settings for every day of the week. While these thermostats offer the greatest flexibility for changing schedules, they also take considerable time to program the differing settings for each day.

• 5 plus 2-day thermostats provide a single setting for the weekdays and another for the weekend.

• 5-1-1 thermostats offer one weekday setting as well as a separate setting for Saturday and a separate setting for Sunday.

Sobieski Services offers more information on the advantages of a programmable thermostat for your home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Image Credit: Maxey