Programmable Thermostats
Space heating consumes the most energy in the home. One of the easiest and lowest cost methods to control this is by proper temperature settings. The thermostat setting determines how long a furnace runs and how much natural gas is used.However, if your normal thermostat setting is 21° Celsius (C), setting it back at night to 17° C will save you money. A general rule of thumb is that for every 1° C you set your thermostat for a minimum of eight hours, you will save up-to-two per cent on your heating bill. For example, if you set back your thermostat 5° C at night, you could save 10 per cent. An additional 10 per cent could be saved if you also set it back an additional eight hours during the day.
With a conventional thermostat, you can manually set it back at night, turn it up in the morning until you leave for work, set it back as you leave and turn it up when you get home.
Alternatively, starting at $50, you can buy a programmable thermostat that has weekday and weekend settings four times per day. These devices are easily programmed to automatically control the temperature to suit daily routines. You can also have multiple program choices that give you different settings for weekdays and weekends.
It is a common misconception that it will take more energy to reheat your home than was saved by setting back the thermostat. Not true. The savings are determined by the amount of temperature reduction and the duration of setback. Temperature setback works because the fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature after a period of setback is less than the fuel that would have been used to maintain the higher temperature through the same period. The more degrees and hours of setback will increase energy savings. However, high efficiency furnaces should not be set back beyond a minimum setting as heat exchanger damage may occur. Check with a qualified contractor to determine the manufacturer’s criteria for high-efficiency furnace minimum set back settings.
Another misconception is that the higher you raise a thermostat setting, the faster the house will warm up. Again, not true. If, for example, a house is at 15° C and the thermostat is raised to 21° C, the house will reach 21° C in the same time as it would if the thermostat was raised to 25° C.
Consider a programmable thermostat today and start saving money.Read Climate Change Central's article Fall into Efficient Home Heating for additional energy-saving tips.
