Heat and humidity make the summer months feel unbearably hot inside your Louisville home. Programmable thermostats are supposed to help you save energy, but they aren’t useful when you don’t know the right way to set your thermostat in the summer.
When the air is hot, your first thought may be to adjust the thermostat temperature several degrees below the normal setting to cool off each room inside your house. This settings strategy does nothing for energy efficiency or to help you save money. Instead, learn the best thermostat temperature setting for summer and tips to set a programmable thermostat for better heating and cooling efficiency.
Jarboe’s Heating, Cooling & Plumbing aims to help you cut your energy bill using your programmable thermostat in summer. Our tips provide energy-efficient temperature settings that allow you to increase savings on bills without feeling like your home has too much heat.
Homeowners regularly ask how they should set my thermostat for air conditioning without breaking the bank. The best temperature to set thermostats really depends on your preferences and goals. If your focus is using less energy, you will set the thermostat higher than someone who values comfort overall. Just remember, just because you want to save energy doesn’t mean you can’t cool your home to a comfortable temperature, too.
The U.S. Department of Energy states the recommended thermostat temperature settings for the greatest energy efficiency is 78 degrees while at home, 82 degrees while you sleep, and 85 degrees when everyone is out of the house.
The Department of Energy promotes the same strategy to set the thermostat in the winter, too. Winter heating settings offer highest efficiency at 68 F when home and 7 to 10 degrees higher when you sleep or leave the house. Anytime you have the opportunity for turning your thermostat up or down 10 degrees or more (depending on if it is summer or winter), for periods of 8 hours or more, you are able to save as much as 10% on energy bills.
Many people feel turning the thermostat to 78 robs the house of any cool air and comfortable temperature, as it simply feels too warm. That’s completely ok! If you prefer a cooler room for relaxing, setting your thermostat a few degrees lower than 78 F won’t erase all energy savings.
Setting your thermostat generates energy savings and savings on bills whenever you choose a temperature that is higher than what you’d pick on a normal day by a few degrees. Using a thermostat setting that is degrees higher than normal means your air conditioning unit doesn’t have to provide as much cooling. It doesn’t need as much energy, so the cool air it does deliver is more efficient.
78 degrees isn’t for everyone – set the thermostat at whatever temperature you find comfortable. The ideal temperature is different from one person to the next, but everyone can use the same thermostat settings principles to save money on air conditioner use.
Anytime you set your thermostat to a temperature above 72 degrees, you save around 3% for every degree over 72 you set the thermostat. Choosing a higher temperature to set on programmable thermostats means indoor air is closer in temperature to outdoor air than compared to the lower temperature you used to set the thermostat in the summer. Closing this gap reduces home cooling load and air conditioning equipment doesn’t need as much energy to provide smaller volumes of cool air.
If you are used to a normal air conditioner setting around 70 degrees, jumping immediately to thermostat settings of 75 degrees is likely going to feel too warm. When you feel hot, it’s easy to become discouraged with your efforts to schedule programmable thermostats for energy efficiency.
Instead of jumping directly to what you think may be the best temperature, take small steps. Set your programmable thermostat one degree higher each day until you reach the best temperature to stay cool without feeling too much heat.
The Louisville summer can bring some pretty extreme heat. Days such as these disrupt your air conditioner and savings efforts because a larger difference exists between the temperature of heating outdoors and cold temperatures from your air conditioner inside.
Learn how to set your thermostat in the summer and you can keep your energy bills under control while your family stays nice and cool. Jarboe’s Heating, Cooling & Plumbing provides the air conditioner services you need to generate energy-efficient cooling performance at home. Contact us today to request service.