Optimizing Setting a Thermostat for Winter
Posted by easy eco blog
The average household will spend over $1100 staying warm during the winter. This cost just keeps going straight up. You can lower your heating costs by 2-5% for every 1 degree lower you set your thermostat. Easily save $200 a year.
Housing accounts for 20% of total US energy use with heating and cooling consuming a whopping 44% of residential energy use.
We realized that we were not setting our thermostat optimally, when we saw some tips that result in lower energy use. We would set the thermostat to heat to my desired temperature of 65 degrees from 6pm to 7am. Many people will prefer 68 degrees, but we like wearing sweaters at home. (Or are so cheap we have to)
A more optimal method is to set the thermostat to 65 for 6pm to 11pm to cover the hours when people are in the house and awake. Set it to 55 or whatever your lifestyle allows, while sleeping, 11pm – 6:30am. Then add an entry for 65 degrees for 630am to 7am to warm up the house before you wake up and head out. The theory is that the house does not need to be heated up that much while people are sleeping.
If you do not have a programmable thermostat, buy one. Ours costs under $30. Look for ones that allow you to have different schedules for weekdays and weekends. Some have additional program schedules for heating and cooling.
Inspect, clean or change the system’s air filters once a month to maximize efficiency and keep costs down.
For Summer see Air Conditioner Energy Savings and Be sure to read Ways to Save Energy, Money on your Power bill
Related posts:
- Air Conditioner Energy Savings
- Reduce Refrigerator Energy Use
- Whole House Fans
- Asbestos Removal Guide
- MIRA-Cool Free Air Cooler Ads
- Home Energy Audits – Home Energy Assessments
- Reducing Air Leaks
- Full Spectrum CFLs to beat Winter Blues
Filed under: Conservation, Easy, Effort, Energy, Green, Home, Reduce | Tags: Thermostat
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3 Responses to “Optimizing Setting a Thermostat for Winter”
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December 22nd, 2009 at 11:41 am
The sun shines in winter, too.
Cats have this figured out – on cold winter days, if you own a cat, chances are he or she is lying in a sunbeam on the floor. You, too, can take advantage of the slanted winter sunshine by opening curtains and shades and letting the sun in. Take note, however, at what time the sun moves away from that particular window and cover it accordingly.
August 25th, 2010 at 9:55 am
[...] weather striping, thermostats, fixing any leaks are easy to do. Set your thermostat to come on before you get home and before you [...]
August 31st, 2010 at 9:54 am
[...] Winter read: Optimizing Setting a Thermostat for Winter and Be sure to read Ways to Save Energy, Money on your Power bill [...]