Use the Programmable Thermostat Wisely to Save on Heating BillsOne easy way for Los Angeles residents to save money on their monthly utility bills is by using their programmable thermostat wisely. For most people with school and work, there are periods of the day when the house is unoccupied, except for pets. This is an ideal time to setback your thermostat. The U.S. Department of Energy has reported that you can save around 1 percent on your annual energy bills for each degree that you lower or raise your thermostat.

The best way to set your programmable thermostat is to pick a normal and a setback temperature, and adapt it, depending on the season. For winter a good normal temperature is 68, and the setback could be 60. In the summer, 75 and 80 are good both for comfort, and for energy efficiency.

Nobody wants to come home to a cold or hot house, which is one reason that a lot of people don’t normally set their thermostats back unless they were going to be gone for a long period of time. A programmable thermostat can take a lot of the work out of the equation. Here’s a sample schedule that you can adapt for your own needs.

Before you wake up and get ready for the day, change to the normal temperature.

Right before you are about to leave for the day, use the setback temperature.

In the early or later part of the afternoon, go back to the normal temperature.

In the late evening, before you are about to go to bed, program your thermostat to use the setback temperature.

On the weekends, depending on your schedule, you might either have the thermostat stay at the normal temperature all day, and only go to the setback temperature in the evenings, or if you are typically out of the house most of the day, you might be able to follow the same schedule as the weekends.

For more expert information about setting your programmable thermostat or other home comfort related question, contact Around the Clock Heating and Air Conditioning. We are your Los Angeles area HVAC contractor.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about programmable thermostats and other HVAC topics, downloadour free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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