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 working, with nobody home. This uses a lot of energy and costs you money. You can considerably reduce this cost by setting the thermostat up or down before you head to work and setting 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 settings: 

You can save around 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply adjusting 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 both temperatures, the lower your complete cooling bill will be. You can easily 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 follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by having your house warmer than normal when you are away and adjusting the thermostat to a setting as high as you’re comfortable with when you are at 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 even harder to get back to your preferred 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 

Despite the benefits of setting your thermostat every time you go to work, it’s easy 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 during your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is especially helpful if you’ve forgotten to change 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 heavy fur won’t be comfortable with high temperatures. And pets with short fur might 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. 

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

• Carbon emissions – The harder you use your heating and air conditioning, the more carbon emissions you generate. Conserving energy decreases 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 may 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, get in touch with the professionals at Falso Service Experts, a big company with hometown 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 core 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 support, so everyone can learn, grow and be ready for any 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 positive, family attitude fuels our teamwork and helps us get the job done on time, and right — the first time. 

Our combination 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 best ideas. That means our teams and customers can rest easy knowing we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long haul, through the busy times and beyond. 

We are Falso Service Experts! Giving strength, knowledge and support through every season.