Is a Programmable Thermostat Right For You?

Before we get started, can we ask a few questions of you?

* Do you know that there are set times of the day that you are going to out of your home? Perhaps you go to work at an office at a certain time, and return around a certain time?

* Do you live in an area where there is a pronounced difference in the outside temperature between day and night? 

* Are there certain times of the day when you want to be "extra cool," such as times when your kids might be in certain areas of the house playing with friends? 

* Do you like to sleep with the air in your house a little cooler or a little warmer? 

* Do you want to experience a nice savings on your monthly energy bill? 

Well, one would imagine that the vast majority of people will answer "yes" to at least one of those questions. 

If you fall into that category, then perhaps a programmable thermostat is something that is right for you. 

With a thermostat that is indeed programmable, you can actually pre-set temperatures for certain times of the day. This allows you to take into consideration what your schedule is, as well as the schedules of the others in your household. 

Obviously when you are not home you do not need to have your house as cool as when you are actually there. If you turned the AC completely off, it wouldn't take all that long to get it up to the point where you could be comfortable. So it makes sense that you can afford to have a higher temperature when you are not present. The better question may be, can you afford NOT to? 

When your AC is running full blast at all times, you are using up an awful lot of energy. That can be considered energy wasted, if it is not absolutely needed. 

By programming your thermostat, you can assure yourself that you will be much more energy-efficient. If you do not have one, you are simply using the on/off switch, and you can imagine that it can be a rather impractical application. You may want to ask your local AC professional about this, and they will be happy to not only install it, but show you how to use it, talk to you about optimum programming for it, and also explain to you about how much energy can be saved by using it the right way. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that you can save $180 over the course of a year through proper use of a programmable thermostat.