How Should I Set My Thermostat for When I’m At Work?

For plenty of hours a day you’re gone at work, or perhaps at school. Yet your heating or air conditioning keeps going and going, despite the house being empty. This uses up a lot of energy and costs you money. You can dramatically reduce this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down before you leave for work and adjusting it back to your preferred temperature when you get home. But how much should the thermostat be adjusted? 

Here’s what the Department of Energy has to say about thermostat settings: 

You can save around 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day from its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates. 

The smaller the contrast between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the less expensive your overall cooling bill can be. You can effectively save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to around 68°F while you’re awake and turning it lower while you’re asleep or away from home. In the summer, you can use the same strategy with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are gone and tweaking the thermostat to a setting as high as is comfortable for you when you’re home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if needed. 

You might have been told that doing these adjustments aren’t worth the time because your HVAC has to work harder to get back to your desired temperature, undoing your savings, but the energy department puts that notion to rest, especially for a furnace: “A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.” 

Programmable and Smart Thermostats 

Regardless of the benefits of adjusting your thermostat every time you leave for work, it’s not hard to forget in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one benefit of programmable and smart thermostats. You can set your thermostat to automatically move to a different temperature across your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can adjust the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is very helpful if you’ve forgotten to adjust the setting before going on a long trip. 

Remember the Pets 

If you have pets at home, consider their comfort too. Cats and dogs with dense fur won’t be comfortable with high temperatures. And pets with short fur may not be happy with cold temperatures. The same goes for tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Since temperature tolerances vary widely by breed and species, look them up for your pets. 

Other Benefits of Adjusting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away 

• Carbon emissions – The harder you run your heating and air conditioning, the more carbon emissions you generate. Conserving energy reduces air pollution and greenhouse gasses. 
• HVAC Longevity – Overusing your HVAC unit can diminish its life span and cause more maintenance to be necessary. It also means the air filter can clog up faster, making your air less clean. 

If you have any concerns about your air conditioner settings, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, contact the pros at Teays Valley Service Experts, a big company with local heart. We’re passionate about making the world a comfy place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers and communities comfortable and satisfied. 

Experts — it’s in our name and core to our business. We strive to help each technician or installer become a skilled craftsman. We hire the best and provide education, opportunities and support, so everyone can learn, grow and be equipped for any challenge they’re faced with. 

Our united business strength and people separate us from other service companies. With over 4,000 team members on board, we can deliver and innovate better than the competition. Our can-do, family attitude powers our collaboration and helps us get the job done on time, and right — the first time. 

Our blend of company size and individual expertise means we can offer more with the next great idea … which can come from anywhere and anyone. We are reinventing the industry by supporting each team member’s best ideas. That means our teams and customers can rest assured we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long haul, through the busier times and beyond. 

We are Teays Valley Service Experts! Delivering strength, knowledge and support across every season.