As energy costs continue to consistently rise, the best programmable thermostat is gaining in popularity among both home and business owners.

Reap the Benefits of a Best Programmable Thermostat

A huge benefit of using a best programmable thermostat, is your ability to adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule that you determine. As a result, you don’t run your heating and cooling unnecessarily while the home is unoccupied and you never have to worry that you forgot to adjust the temperature as you left your house.

So you may be thinking that saving money by purchasing and installing a best programmable thermostat is great, but how much do I really have to change my heating and cooling preferences to realize any really savings.

Let’s use an example where you leave your best programmable thermostat set to 68°F while you’re awake and then set it lower when asleep or away from home. If you are at work or asleep for at least 8 hours, and lower your temperature setting by just 10°–15° for that timeframe, you can expect to save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill.  Overall, it’s a savings of as much as 1% for each degree lowered if the timeframe the temperature is lowered is at least eight hours long. It is important to note that the percentage of savings from lowering the temperature on your best programmable thermostat is greater for homes and offices in milder climates.  Remember, saving energy means saving money!

If you have central air, you can continue to reap the savings of a best programmable thermostat during the summer months as well.  If you keep your home a little warmer than usual when you are out of the home and lower it to a more comfortable setting while you are there and need cooling you will save energy.

Find out more about how a best programmable thermostat can benefit your household.

If used properly, a best programmable thermostat helps homeowners save wasted money on high energy bills.

As With Most Items, A Best Programmable Thermostat May Have Drawbacks, But Still Worth the Investment!

Owning a best programmable thermostat can help you save money on your cooling and heating costs.  Learn the difference between these types of thermostats so that you can understand why the best programmable thermostat is the option to keep your home energy efficient.

Electromechanical – or manual – thermostats are the old-fashioned mercury units seen in many older homes that have internal coils to expand or contract in response to temperature change.  This type of thermostat is becoming obsolete for two reasons:  First digital thermostats are able to read and respond to temperature changes more accurately, and the purchase of products containing mercury has been restricted or banned in many states.  However, manual thermostats continue to remain popular with consumers due to their low cost, the familiarity of their controls’ design, and the ease of their use.

Manual digital thermostats use an electronic temperature sensor to notice changes in the room temperature that then compare these figures with the desired temperature selected by the user.  If a difference between the room temperature and the desired temperature is noticed, a command is then sent to the heating or cooling system that action is needed.  With a manual digital thermostat, you will have to physically adjust the setting whenever you would like to change the room temperature.

A best programmable thermostat is a step above the digital manual thermostats as they are undoubtedly more convenient and can help lower your energy costs.  Once you program the best programmable thermostat to fit your schedule, your job is done and you just have to let it do all the work.  To stay comfortable and save energy year-round, program the desired temperatures into the memory of the unit, along with the times of day that you would like the changes to occur.  As an example, you can set a best programmable thermostat to a comfortable temperature for when you wake up in the morning and are just getting out of bed, allow it to go into energy-conservation mode – while you are away at the office or school, and then have a temperature set to increase to a more comfortable level before you return home!  You only need to program your best programmable thermostat once – until you are ready to make a change.  It really is that simple!

Purchasing a Best Programmable Thermostat Gives You Options!

Depending on the model, a best programmable thermostat can be programmed in one of three ways:

• 5 – 2 programming:  Maintains a particular schedule for five consecutive days (weekdays), then switches to a different schedule for the other two days (weekends).
• 5 – 1 – 1 programming:  Maintains a five day schedule (weekdays), then switches to first individual day (Saturday), then second individual day (Sunday).
• 7 day programming:  Allows for great flexibility for those with schedules that vary each day of the week by allowing you to program each day individually.

Special features to look for in your best programmable thermostat:

• Automatic switchover – This allows the thermostat to control both heating and cooling (if your system is set up for this) without requiring that you manually switch between the heat and cool settings.  Most digital best programmable thermostats have this feature.
• Manual override – Lets you manually modify your settings on a best programmable thermostat.  If you decide you would like the room or home warmer for a particular time, you can adjust the temperature and it will remain in effect until the next programmed setting begins.
• Vacation override – This function temporarily overrides any preprogrammed settings while you are away, saving money on unnecessary temperature maintenance.  As a bonus, you can go back to your original settings when you return from your trip without needing to reprogram your best programmable thermostat!
• Keypad lock – This button prevents any changes from happening to your system once you have programmed the settings.
• Battery indicator – If your unit does have a battery, this feature lets you know that the battery is low and needs to be replaced.
• Filter change indicator – This indicator is triggered after a preset length of time to indicate that the system’s internal filters need to be cleaned or replaced.  Clean filters improve the efficiency of your furnace or air conditioner!
• Auto season changeover – Changes your best programmable thermostat settings as the seasons change.
• Energy monitor – Maintains a record of how many hours your system has run for a desired period of time.
• Plus many other unique features to always keep you comfortable!

Find out more about the features and options in a best programmable thermostat.

If Choosing a Best Programmable Thermostat, Find One with All the Features Important to You!

As you may be aware, there are different best programmable thermostat available, and while they are all great programmable thermostats in and of themselves, not every one would be the perfect model for your home.  By narrowing down which features are important to you and making sure the best programmable thermostat you purchase has those, you can rest assured knowing that you will be happy with your choice.

In general, every ENERGY STAR qualified best programmable thermostat comes with four pre-programmed settings and maintains those settings within two degrees. Some additional features found in a best programmable thermostat include:

• Digital, backlit displays
• Touch pad screen programming
• Voice and/or phone programming
• Hold/Vacation features
• Indicators to let you know the air filters need to be switched out
• Indicators that signal malfunctioning of heating/cooling systems
• Adaptive Recovery/ Smart Recovery features — control features that senses the amount of time it will take to reach the next set-point temperature, and reach desired temperatures by the set time

Choosing the Best Programmable Thermostat for Your Schedule

Deciding which best programmable thermostat model is right for you is simple.  Think about your daily schedule and how often you are away from home.  Is there a pattern?  Once you have determined that, decide which of the three different models best fits your schedule: the 7-day, 5+2-day, or the 5-1-1-day.

• 7-day models are best if your daily schedule tends to vary every day of the week.  This best programmable thermostat gives you the most flexibility, and lets you set different programs for different days — usually with four possible temperature periods per day.

• 5+2-day models use the same schedule every weekday, and another for weekends. This best programmable thermostat is erfect for those with a Monday-Friday schedule and a different weekend schedule.

• 5-1-1 models are best if you tend to keep one schedule Monday through Friday and another schedule on Saturdays and another one on Sunday

Find out more about purchasing your best programmable thermostat

Determine which Best Programmable Thermostat will work best in your home today!