Sachin

In the US, most homes have a heating and cooling system to help them regulate the temperature in their property. This is even considered as a necessity in many homes. Since it is so expensive to purchase a heating and cooling system, it is important to know how best to take care of the system you have at home. This way, you can rely on it once the weather becomes too cold or too hot; as in the case of summer and winter.

If this is your first time to handle a heating and cooling system, it would be a good idea to know how you can adjust your thermostat so that it would be economic for your household. One way you can do this is by simply adjusting the thermostat settings on your heating and cooling system until they fit your preference. But if you are wondering how best you can control your energy usage and budget, it's important that you take these things into consideration:

Thermostat Setting during Summer

As a generalization, your body gets most comfortable once the air inside your home is around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Particularly during the hot, summer months, it would feel like you wouldn't want to leave your home unless you're sure air conditioning is available. But to be honest, the 75-degree setting is only necessary when your home will be occupied during the waking hours. And for some people, summer is the best time to go out of the house and explore other places. If you know that you will be gone for a long period of time, it may be best to set your temperature several degrees higher than 75 degrees. It is also a good energy-saving practice to follow this same temperature setting while you're asleep. The reason behind this is that when you set your temperature higher for eight-hour intervals, you can notice a significant change in your cooling costs.

Despite this, however, it is important that you don't go overboard when you set your cooling to high temperatures; especially if you have an undersized A/C. The problem here is that your cooling system will struggle when it returns to your comfortable level once the temperature in the air becomes too warm.

Thermostat Setting during Winter

Meanwhile during winter, it is a good idea to keep your thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime only when you're home. Just like it did with your thermostat settings in the summer, this can do you a lot of good during winter season. Your furnace can keep you warm throughout the day at this thermostat setting. Once it's time to sleep however, it is recommended that you lower your thermostat by 10 to 15 degrees for an interval of 8 hours per day. This can significantly affect your heating bills while you're at work or sleeping. You can even do without using a furnace if it's a mild winter. You'll get to see up to 15 percent reduction on your bill per year.

Thermostat Setting during a Vacation

When you're going away for a vacation, no matter how long or short your trip is, you still have to think of your home and its safety. Part of this is to be sure that your heating and cooling system has been properly shut down prior to your trip. There's also an option to use the hold/permanent/vacation feature on your thermostat so that it remains a constant temperature during the time that you're away. While most people would usually shut down their system completely, it could also result to high humidity levels as well as stimulate mold growth. This is because the interior temperature in your home is uncontrolled and the air cannot circulate properly. For this, it may be a wise decision to opt to use the away feature. This could also be an added security measure so that it will look like someone is home even though you're away.

Programmable Thermostats as an Option

One option you have to help you moderate your home's temperature is to install a programmable thermostat. This is a good way you can keep your home's temperature in check without having to manually adjust the temperature on your own. The good thing is that most of the programmable thermostats available today may be automatically adjusted up to six or more times per day. If you need to, you may also manually override the automatic settings without disrupting the program you have already set.

No matter how you decide to adjust your home's thermostat setting, the important thing is that you remember to do it properly. Also, make sure that the temperature you adjust is right for the weather outside. Otherwise, you'll end up overworking your system and you could have a pretty hefty bill at the end of the month.

Written by APM Construction Services, a construction and home maintenance company that is the best choice for heating and cooling in Columbia, MO.