Today, you can choose from a wide range of programmable thermostats that help you to balance the temperature in your home for any time of the day and any day of the week. One of our favorite programmable thermostats is the smart thermostat. By connecting to your smartphone through an app, a smart programmable thermostat offers real-time control wherever you go.
But what are the benefits of a programmable thermostat, and how do you use them? Let’s discuss the possibilities.
1. Programmable thermostats help your AC dehumidify while you’re away
What’s the point of a programmable thermostat when you can just shut it off when you leave? Believe it or not, shutting off your air conditioning unit completely is bad for your home.
When you’re away, the humidity will build up indoors, causing excessive moisture to affect wood, paper, cloth, carpet, and sheetrock. The dampness leads to water damage as it absorbs into these materials, discoloring, warping, and growing mildew!
Humid air is also the perfect breeding ground for viruses, bacteria, mold, and dust mites. So if you like a beautiful clean home and try to avoid allergies and illness, it’s best to leave the humidity outside. Keep your home dehumidified and save energy no matter where you are with a programmable thermostat.
2. Programmable thermostats save on refrigerator and freezer energy costs
When you shut off your air conditioner and let your house become hot and humid, it makes your refrigerator and freezer work harder. It can cause these major appliances stress and lead to premature system failure. At best, your energy bill will be higher because your fridge will push itself to reach the right temperature in the sweltering heat.
Instead, use your programmable thermostat to regulate the temperature. Your air conditioning unit dehumidifies the air as it cools. Ask your HVAC service provider what temperature will be best to keep your home under 60% humidity.
3. Set day and night schedules with your programmable thermostat
Your body temperature naturally drops when you are sleeping, which is why you reach for a blanket to cover up. Instead of freezing at night in the Summer and cooking in the Winter, give your HVAC (and your energy bill) a break. According to the EPA, the recommended setting depends on your preferred living temperature. When you sleep, set it 4 degrees higher in hot weather and 8 degrees lower during cold weather.
Schedule it to return to your favorite temperature home again just before you wake up in the morning. If you are a late riser in the hot weather months of Florida, set it to turn on around 9 am when the temperature rises outdoors.
4. Set work and home schedules with a programmable thermostat
If you work long hours, you don’t want to cool or heat a space you aren’t preoccupying. Set your temperature to be 7 degrees warmer in hot weather and 8 degrees lower during cold weather.
You also want to come home to a comfortable living space. That’s when programmable thermostats save the day when you can’t reach them. Set the thermostat to return to an optimal setting an hour before your arrival so that your house greets you with the perfect temperature.
5. Weekend schedules conserve energy
Not only can you program your thermostat to turn on or off to adapt to your work schedule, but you can also choose appropriate times to conserve energy when you’re out with family, friends, or running errands. Thermostats that offer weekend schedule settings are often called “5 – 2 day.”
6. The vacation setting is gold!
Being able to customize your thermostat temporarily while keeping your previously scheduled settings can be invaluable when going on a trip for a few days or many weeks at a time. Most programmable thermostats have a feature known as the “vacation setting” that monitors and regulates the temperature in your home when you are gone for a long period. This does not erase, but merely overrides any other schedules you set for your day-to-day lifestyle.
Programmable Thermostats in Tampa Bay, Florida
Ultimately, which programmable thermostat you choose is a personal decision. The only type of thermostat you should stay away from is the manual thermostat. These are the old-fashioned dials that only allow temperature setting. Unless you plan to remember to turn the dial every time you wake up, go to work, come home, and go to sleep, you will waste energy and money.
Programmable thermostats offer plenty of customizable features that help your home to remain beautiful, clean, and energy-efficient. Use them to keep your household running smoothly with ease.
If you want to purchase a programmable thermostat, but don’t know which one is best for your air conditioning or HVAC unit, call Action Air Conditioning. We sell and install programmable thermostats for all your air conditioning and HVAC system needs..