Are your home’s heating and air conditioning system run by your temperature whims or by a programmable thermostat? If it’s not the latter, it may be time to start thinking about switching to a thermostat that can save you money. Programmable thermostats come in a wide variety, with brands likes Nest, Honeywell, and many others. These companies are creating innovative products that can be finely customized to each homeowner’s needs.
Based on a study from Nest, using a Nest thermostat can provide real energy savings for homeowners. The numbers range anywhere from 10-12% for heating usage and around 15% for cooling usage. If these percentages are compared to average energy costs, it means that homeowners are able to save around $130 to $145 every year on their heating and cooling budget.
Maximize savings with Nest…
Looking for ways to save with a Nest thermostat?
We’ve provided some key tips to keep in mind below:
- Be sure to teach your Nest – As a learning thermostat, you’ll need to show it the ropes for a few days. That means turning down the heat or AC when you go to sleep. Don’t worry – Nest will learn your routine after a short period of time and adjust to meet your predicted heating and cooling needs.
- Utilize the Away feature correctly – By setting your Nest to Away, it will know that you aren’t home and don’t need your system to spend unnecessary energy keeping your house cozy or cool. Whether you use Auto-Away or manually set it to Away, your Nest helps you get the most savings.
How does a programmable thermostat put savings back in your pocket?
The modern home is becoming more and more integrated. Features like programmable thermostats are becoming commonplace. Nest stands out from your average programmable thermostat with two key programs: the exclusive Auto-Schedule and Auto-Away features. The Nest thermostat actually works to fine-tune your heating & cooling schedule for you as seasons change, ensuring you save as much as possible from spring to summer to fall to winter – year after year. With finely tuned heating & cooling schedules alone, Nest users can save 5-10% on their usage and spend. Although Nest may not be compatible with all units and homes, Southland Heating & Air Conditioning has many options to choose from. We will help you find just the right thermostat to fit your home, style, budget, and system compatibility.
Other Tips to Reduce Electricity Costs –
- Keep your degree changes minimal – When increasing your heater’s temperature on chilly days, keep the temperature changes within 1 ºF increment. The lower you can keep it, the more you can save on your energy bill. However, if you do have to raise it, try to keep the temperature changes as small as possible to reach your desired comfort levels.
- Don’t overuse your fan – Frustrated by hot or cold spots throughout your home? Want to cut back on AC usage but want the air circulating still? You’ll probably think to use your fan in all these situations. While that can be a solution, a home fan can often use more energy than a home’s lighting requires. Additionally, many people leave their fan running all day, which means they are using around the same amount of energy that the AC would use up by running for a few hours. This will basically put you back at square one in terms of spending. With Nest, you can schedule the fan to switch on for just a few minutes or for specific increments throughout the day for optimal comfort and minimal spending.
Talk to Southland Heating & Air Conditioning today to get more information!
