Written on: February 1, 2021
This time of year, just a degree or two inside your home can cause your heating bill to climb or drop. The good news is that you’re in control of your heating oil– or propane-fueled system—especially if you have a programmable thermostat. So if you’re thinking about getting a programmable thermostat for your Western New York home, but you’re still on the fence, here are a few helpful hints to keep in mind.
When you’re not home, you don’t need to keep the heat all the way up. With a programmable thermostat, you have your heating system (and in summer, your A/C) start shutting down about 20 to 30 minutes before you go out, since that’s about how long it takes. Similarly, you can set it to return to its original temperature about 30 minutes before you return home.
In order to be as precise as possible with this, check your owner’s manual. Doing so will give you a good sense of how long you need to wait for your home comfort system to reach your desired temperature. It will also answer many questions about your system that you may not have even realized you had!
When you’re home, figure out what temperature is the lowest point at which you still feel comfortable, in the winter (and the highest point at which you still feel comfortable, in the summer). This will help prevent your system from overworking.
When you have a manual thermostat, the temps in your home can vary up to 5°F between the set temperature and the actual temperature. With a programmable thermostat, which is much more precise, this is not the case. Taking advantage of this precision can save you quite a bit of money every heating season.
Another way a programmable thermostat can help you save is when you implement zone heating. In short, don’t heat (or cool) rooms where no one will be spending time! With zone heating, you can use your programmable thermostat to cut off the heat to one or more rooms in your house, for any length of time. This can lead to big savings, both on the energy front and for your budget.
How can we help you with heating your Western New York home? Contact us to learn about automatic delivery or tank monitoring, refer a friend or find out about something else!