It’s essential to properly program a thermostat in all seasons, since incorrect programming (or just leaving the temperature at the same setting 24/7) is worse than relying on an old-style manual thermostat. You’re waste energy (and money) heating a house that’s empty during the day and also unnecessarily stress equipment.

Here’s a sample schedule of temperature changes for your programmable thermostat this winter:

Daytime setting

During the week when the house is empty during the day, set the temperature several degrees lower – perhaps as many as 10 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. There’s no need to maintain a warm house when nobody’s home to appreciate it.

Late afternoon/evening setting

Set the thermostat so it returns to your regular comfort temperature shortly before you expect to arrive home from work or school.

Overnight setting

Program a lower temperature for when everybody’s sleeping, since most folks prefer it cooler when sleeping. Most people add blankets to their beds in the winter as well.

Morning setting

The temperature can be set to return to a comfortable level shortly before you expect to wake up. That way the house will be warm and comfortable while you take a shower and get ready for work. (You can consider skipping this step if you expect to go out the door relatively quickly. It wastes energy to warm up a house for a very short period.)

Another benefit of a programmable thermostat is that many models these days also have Wi-Fi capability. So if you’re away from home and realize you’ll be early or late arriving home, you can adjust the temperature from your smartphone, tablet or laptop.

For more helpful advice on resetting the programmable thermostat in your Eastern North Carolina home, please contact us at Jackson & Sons Heating and Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).