Resetting the Programmable Thermostat for Cold Weather

With winter nearly here, resetting the programmable thermostat in your Middletown area home should be on your autumn to-do list. The programming and setbacks you implemented for the cooling season no longer will work when your home transitions from cooling to heating. Plus, you won’t achieve the advertised benefits of your fancy programmable thermostat if you don’t set it for daily energy savings in whatever season.

Without the right temperature changes programmed into a modern thermostat, you might as well be using an old-school manual thermostat, which requires constant adjustments. A properly set programmable thermostat, on the other hand, will allow you to program the device and forget about it.

Following is a typical schedule for resetting the programmable thermostat for the heating season:

• Daytime setting. During the week when home occupants are at work or school, set the temperature several degrees (as many as 10-12) lower than your usual comfort level. So if you keep the house at 70 degrees during the evening, crank the thermostat down to 60 more or less when everybody’s gone. Use a different schedule for weekend days (or whatever days someone’s at home).
• Evening setting. The thermostat should be set to return to your regular comfort level shortly before home occupants are expected to arrive home from work or school. The temperature should remain at that setting until bedtime.
• Nighttime setting. In the winter, most people prefer the temperature a few degrees lower when they’re sleeping, as they’re snuggling warmly under blankets. Program the thermostat accordingly.
• Early morning setting. Program the thermostat to return to a comfortable temperature a half hour or so before you expect to awaken. If you’re going to be up and out of the house quickly in the morning, you might want to skip this step, since it does require more energy to warm up a house for a brief period of time.

Of course, all of these recommendations can be adapted to your own schedule and preferences.

For more information on resetting the programmable thermostat for the winter, please contact us at C.R. Wolfe Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Middletown, New York about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 845-367-4482.

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