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

For plenty of hours a day you’re off at work, or perhaps at school. Yet your HVAC system keeps working, with nobody home. This uses a lot of energy and costs you money. You can dramatically reduce this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down when you go to work and resetting it back to your favored 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 adjustments: 

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 usual setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates. 

The smaller the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the more affordable your total cooling bill can be. You can comfortably save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to something like 68°F while you’re awake and setting it lower while you’re sleeping or away from home. In the summer, you can use the same strategy with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are away and setting the thermostat to a setting as high as is comfortable for you when you’re home and want cooling and to provide humidity control if needed. 

You could have been told that doing these adjustments aren’t worth it because your HVAC has to work extra hard to get back to your favored 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 head to work, it’s easy to miss 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 higher or lower temperature across your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is very helpful if you’ve forgotten to fix 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 Advantages of Adjusting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away 

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

If you have any questions about your air conditioner settings, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, call the professionals at Roland J. Down Service Experts, a big company with homegrown heart. We’re passionate about making the world a cozy 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 vital to our business. We work tirelessly to help each team member become a skilled craftsman. We work with the best and provide training, opportunities and assistance, so our teams can learn, develop and be ready for any kind of challenge thrown their way. 

Our total business strength and people make us special. With over 4,000 team members on board, we can deliver and innovate better than the rest of the industry. Our can-do, family attitude energizes our teamwork 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 accomplish more with the next great idea … which may come from anywhere and anyone. We are reinventing the industry by harnessing each team member’s most popular ideas. That means our teams and customers can relax knowing we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long haul, through the busy times and beyond. 

We are Roland J. Down Service Experts! Giving strength, knowledge and support through every season.