By: Piers
“Our thermostat is programmed for 65 when we’re home and 58 when we’re away or asleep” Why on earth do you set it to 58 when you are away? Are you worried that your furniture might feel the cold? With...
View ArticleBy: Mary
My condo building has common heat and a programmable thermostat. They refuse to use it, as they insist it costs more money. Instead, we keep it set at 79 (?!?) around the clock. Really interesting...
View ArticleBy: jEFF
This article has some valid points, but it reaches a bad conclusion. It is basic physics. The “loss” from your house is directly proportional to the difference in temperatures between the inside and...
View ArticleBy: Jane
“With the terrifying ignorance on show in this thread is it any wonder that the US leads the world in wasting energy?” I’m not sure where you live, but in some parts of the United States, it gets so...
View ArticleBy: Paularado
Are these studies all done with forced air systems? We have radiant heat in concrete and it takes hours to heat or cool. We just leave our thermostat alone and don’t change it day or night. I’ve often...
View ArticleBy: Splint
Our programmable thermostat has saved us money. My biggest problem was forgetting to turn the heat off at night or right before I left in the morning. That leaves the heat on all night and/or all day...
View ArticleBy: Charlotte
This post is full of arguments about both sides but for me the bottom line is: Saving money or not I love that I can program it to go up 70 degrees in the winter just before I wake up so I don’t have a...
View ArticleBy: Alex
@Coley I can’t support it scientifically, it is just something I have heard many times from many different sources, and have seen to be sound in my own experience. I would certainly defer to a...
View ArticleBy: Bella
J.D. For an article that you thought no one would like – there sure is a lot of discussion. And for the person who complained that this is another PF blog writing about programmable thermostats – that...
View ArticleBy: jim
#89 Alex said: “…but the logic is that if it takes X energy to lower the temperature 1 degree, and it takes Y to simply maintain the temperature (the AC runs for less time), then expending X twice a...
View ArticleBy: Jeff
Don’t forget, if you live in a state where you can choose your electricity,call every 6 months and see if the rates have gone down. I called last year and my price went from .14 cents to .12 cents per...
View ArticleBy: Lyn
Good discussion! To those who think they cannot lower the daytime temp because there are people home, I highly recommend light weight long underwear. Silk or cuddleduds make a huge difference in...
View ArticleBy: Lisa
We live in Minnesota, and we decided to buy a programmable thermostat after the first winter we spent in our house. Before we had it, we did set the temp lower when we were gone and at night, but we...
View ArticleBy: Coley
I don’t know if anyone’s still reading this. Alex, and others who are wondering about the humidity thing – No that concern doesn’t make any sense to me. Granted, you might not like too much humidity in...
View ArticleBy: Meg
I don’t understand why a programmable thermostat would ever be necessary. Yes it makes sense to change the temperature when you are gone and when you are sleeping to conserve energy – BUT YOU CAN DO...
View ArticleBy: Aarona
I installed one of these myself…ended up costing like $20 after a coupon (and I’d never installed anything like this before). Before having this, I’d try to remember to set back the thermostat before I...
View ArticleBy: christof
@Coley (95) It depends on the A/C. If the unit is only triggered by temprature, then it wouldn’t work harder due to the level of humidity. Some devices, however, control temperature and humidity. They...
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By: Lisa
@ Meg: We bought ours because we are fallible human beings. There are some mornings when I am just so rushed, I wouldn’t remember my head if it wasn’t attached, let alone to turn down the thermostat....
View ArticleBy: Iantj
I’m from the UK where the normal pattern is to have a fixed thermostat and turn the whole heating system off overnight and when out. The thermostat tends to suffer from temperature creep as family...
View ArticleBy: Dave
I rarely have to use the heater in our home in Texas. But I’m willing to spend as much money as necessary to keep the house cool. During the fall and winter months I keep the thermostat at 60 degrees...
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