Bad thermostat habits

Your thermostat is the brain of your HVAC system. It tells it when to turn on, switch off, and what temperature your home should be. Moreover, proper use of a thermostat can save you money and help your HVAC system last longer.

Unfortunately, many homeowners adjust their thermostat only when they feel their home is too hot or too cold — or worse — they practice bad thermostat habits that end up raising their monthly energy bills. Below are three bad thermostat habits you should avoid:

1. Turning the thermostat all the way up or down: Doing this wont heat or cool your home any faster than just setting it to the proper temperature. As a matter of fact, you’ll end up making your home hotter or colder than it should be and you’ll end up adjusting it again. This cycle of constant adjustment can end up being quite costly.
2. Constantly adjusting the temperature: Frequent temperature adjustments can cause undue wear and tear on your system. Finding a temperature that everyone is comfortable with, and leaving it that way (when you are home) is a smarter choice that saves your system from excess wear — and your bank account from exorbitant bills.
3. Turning the system off when you leave the home: You might think that shutting off your system when you are not home will save you money, but in reality the opposite will happen. By the time you get home and turn the system back on, it has to drastically change temperatures, sometimes by 15 degrees or more. This means your system will have to run non-stop, burning up more energy and spending more money than you would have if you had just set it at a reasonable “maintenance temperature” while you were away.

If you have a programmable thermostat, learn how to use it, and set temperatures for when you are home, when you are sleeping and when you are away.

If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, or you are looking to upgrade your current programmable unit, now is the perfect time to invest in one of many of the great new models available, such as the AprilAire wifi thermostat. Speak to a qualified HVAC contractor to learn more about this incredible technology.