Choosing the
best programmable thermostat
So many
residential thermostats to choose from
Choosing the best
programmable thermostat for your home is
essential to maximizing comfort as well as climate control.
There
are countless of residential thermostats available on
the market
today.
With
seemingly every manufacturer making various claims of energy savings
and
climate control, sorting through it all can become overwhelming.
Keep in mind that the
only way to truly benefit from any
programmable thermostat, even a wireless climate control
thermostat, is to
capitalize on the extended and routine periods of time that you and
your family
are not home.
Make
observations before purchasing
It's a good idea to make
a log or even a chart of you and
your families daily and weekly schedules. This includes work and school
schedules and weekend soccer and baseball practices as well.
Make a note of
daily and weekly habits also. Habits such as sleep times and wake up
times for
the majority of the households occupants should be considered.
And then determine a
reasonable and comfortable household
temperature reduction during the heating season and a reasonable
temperature
increases during the cooling season.
It's important to note
that a setback of at
least 8 degrees F (during the heating season) and a setup of at least 7
degrees F
(during the cooling season) are recommended by the U.S dept of Energy
in order to
fully maximize energy savings potential.
7 Day
These
energy saving models are generally the best
programmable thermostats for those individuals and families with
unpredictable
daily schedules. They allow different settings for every single day of
the
week.
5 + 2 Day
If
you and your family have fairly routine weekday
schedules and habits then these climate control thermostats may best
suit you.
They allow for programmed settings during the week and separate climate
control
settings for the weekend.
5 - 1 -
1 Day
For
those with unpredictable weekend activities and
routine schedules during the week, these climate control thermostats
may best
suit your home. They allow for automatic settings during the week and
great
flexibility during each separate day of the weekend.
The
number of daily settings
A programmable thermostat
can have anywhere from 4 to 8
daily settings, the more settings the more possible daily temperature
setbacks
and setups. One household may need a model with 6 to 8 daily settings
while
another needs only 4 or 5 daily settings.
Determining in advance
how many daily climate control
settings you need will make finding the best programmable thermostat
for your home a
lot easier.
Other
features to look for
Look for a model that has
a simple and user friendly
override feature. This will allow you to change the temperature
schedule for a
particular day without altering the remainder of the weeks
schedule.
Regardless
of how routine someones schedule might be, the unpredictable will
eventually
happen and this feature allows homeowners to adjust without having to
completely re program their residential thermostat.
Some models can also hold
programmable settings for up to 72
hours without electricity in the event of a power outage.
Return
To Residential Thermostats Main Page
|
