What Are the Optimal Thermostat Settings for the Winter?
December 13, 2021 5:12 pm Leave your thoughtsAs the temperatures keep getting colder, you might be struggling between the desire to stay toasty warm and the inevitable high utility bill that comes with turning your home into a tropical paradise.
Balancing warmth with affordable heating costs can be a challenge. What are the optimal thermostat settings for winter? Read on to learn our best tips.
Cold-weather heater settings
You don’t necessarily need a programmable or smart thermostat to save on your energy bills, as long as you’re careful and attentive. Generally, the thermostat should be kept at the lowest comfortable temperature possible, which is usually around 68°F. This will slow down heat loss in homes with furnaces or baseboard heating systems. (Heat pumps, on the other hand, become less efficient at lower temperatures.)
Of course, 68°F might be way too cold for you, while others could comfortably exist at 66°F and lower. Depending on your individual needs, you can feel free to set the temperature as high as 72°F during the daytime when people are home. At night, when you’re curled up in front of the fire or huddled underneath blankets, set your thermostat to 66° or lower. You’ll stay warm with the extra heating and blankets.
If you’re not ready to go cold turkey with the thermostat, you can start easing into it; reduce the daytime temperature by one degree every few days until everyone in the household is used to it. Even reducing the temperature by 1 degree can net a 1-percent reduction in energy usage. By keeping your thermostat at a conservatively low temperature, you can save up to 10 percent on your overall energy bills. Considering how the price of utilities are skyrocketing, that’s no small savings.
Tips and tricks
Adjusting your heater settings for cold weather doesn’t require a smart or programmable thermostat, but they can certainly help. Smart thermostats can be adjusted no matter where you are and monitored (in case your teenager decides they’d prefer to live in an 80°F home while you’re at work). They also save you the trouble of remembering to turn down the heat before you go to bed. Your thermostat will automatically adjust based on the program settings.
Another smart way to cut down on costs is to make sure you’re getting accurate thermostat readings. This may mean you need to move your thermostat into another room. For example, if your thermostat is in the coldest room of the house, it’s always going to register a lower temperature than the rest of the living space—and drive up your bills accordingly.
Finally, make sure to seal all your doors and windows, and close the doors and vents to unused rooms. This will ensure that you’re not paying to heat unused spaces. Your energy bills will drop, and you’ll be that much more comfortable.
Adjusting your winter thermostat settings is a smart and easy way to save money on your energy bills, but maintaining and installing energy-efficient furnaces helps, too. Call BLM Refrigeration Heating & Air Conditioning for full-service heating help.
Categorised in: HVAC Services
This post was written by Writer