A lot of people make mistakes with their thermostat and it’s costing them money. These tips are here to help prevent these problems and help you save.
1. Turn Heating Off Instead of Using Setback Temperatures
Many people completely turn off their heating when leaving the house. However, doing this could leave your home at risk of mold growth, burst pipes, and dampness. The good thing, though, is that most houses are well-insulated meaning that temperatures cannot drop to dangerously low temperatures through the day.
At the same time, it is highly unlikely that temperatures will drop to alarmingly-low temperatures within a day when heating is turned off. It is worth noting that setback temperature does not mean that heating is on when you are not around. If your thermostat setback temperature is just right for your house, heating will be off while you are away for the day but kept from dropping too low if you are away for an extended period.
To get the right setback temperature for your home will take some time and may require some experimenting. However, the recommended starting point is 16°C. An average home requires about one hour to get from 16°C to 21°C. So, consider adjusting your program accordingly. Smart thermostats can eliminate the hassle of experimentation as they will automatically calculate the best temperature for your home when you are away and will activate heating to warm rooms by the time you arrive.
2. Cranking Up Your Thermostat To Heat Up Rooms Faster
If you have just come back home to an icy-cold house on winter’s night, turning up your thermostat may seem like a reasonable thing to do. However, doing this will help you feel comfortable or warmer any quicker. Why? You ask? The reason is quite simple: Thermostats have no control over how fast a house will heat up; all they do is set the final temperature that you want.
Think of thermostats as basic temperature regulators. Their work is to regulate the central heating system until the preferred temperature is reached after which they turn off heating until temperatures drop again. Cranking up your thermostat to temperatures higher than a comfortable level will lead to your system overheating your home, making rooms uncomfortable stuffy and warm, and is a waste of precious energy.
3. Leaving Your Thermostat Set Low While Keeping Heating On Constantly Thinking It’s More Efficient Than Switching It On And Off
When it comes to thermostats, the most advisable thing to do is to lower temperatures when you are not home. This is because the heat a home loses is related to the difference in temperatures inside your home and outside. When outdoor temperatures are low, the more heat your home will lose; and the warmer it’s indoors, the more heat you will lose.
Accordingly, the lesser heat you lose, the lesser energy you will have to use in order to maintain comfortable temperatures inside your home. That’s why it is recommended that you turn heating down below comfort-levels when you are away. For more info about this, read the following article on how to decrease heat loss at home.
If setting low temperatures when you are not in can save you some money, then why is it that many people never follow this simple rule? The reason is quite simple: Getting home to an ice-cold house pushes a lot of people to turn their thermostat up to levels higher than usual, overheating their homes and wasting money they had saved by setting their thermostat at low when they were not around. In such instances, programmable thermostats could serve you quite well. A programmable thermostat can be set to warm up your home at preset times ensuring that your house is warmed up by the time you get home.
However, things can become a bit complicated in the event your schedule changes or if you are dealing with longer-response heating systems like hydronic underfloor heating and radiators. In such an instance, a smart thermostat could save you a ton of cash. Smart thermostats will learn how long it takes for the house to get warmed up (unique to each home).
Using this information and knowing how far you are from getting home – since they are interconnected with most of your devices – they know when to start warming up things. This way, they ensure that heating automatically activates at the right time, offering maximum efficiency minus sacrificing comfort levels.
4. Setting Your Thermostat At The Wrong Temperature
Setting the proper temperatures on your thermostat is vital in ensuring that the climate in your home is as comfortable as possible. However, a lot of people today tend to crank up the heat in their homes, something that leads to wasted energy, and stuffy, restless nights that often result in headaches. While comfort can’t be absolutely defined, England’s official cold-weather plan suggests that the standard temperature for living rooms be 21°C, whereas that of bedrooms and other unoccupied rooms be 18°C. It is advisable that you avoid going past the 24°C threshold.
Unfortunately, older central heating systems do not allow users to control individual room temperatures. At the same time, most of these systems tend to have a single thermostat that’s located at a central place, making it hard to balance temperatures around the house. However, there is a simple tip that could prove very useful in such situations. Turn on heating and set your living room radiator valve to a comfortable level while setting the rest of the valves in rooms you are not using a level lower. For instance, if the temperatures in the living room feel comfortable at level-4, consider setting the valve in your bedroom at level-3 or even lower.
A new mattress can make a big difference too and nowadays thanks to the materials involved can help circulation, meaning that you can keep a constant body temperature as these tempurpedic reviews suggest.
Finally, ensure that the thermostat in your hallway is set at 20°C considering that this is last space to warm up. This way, all rooms in your home will maintain a comfy temperature without having to set your central heating too high. Have all the doors to unused rooms closed and their radiators set to low. Check out the following infographic for tips on how to spend lesser on your heating bills while making sure that your home stays warm when the cold sets in.
5. Cranking Up Your Thermostat Instead Of Wearing Extra Clothing
Putting on extra clothing like jumpers will increase your body temperature by up to 3°C. At the same time, research suggests that lowering your home’s temperature by just 1°C could save you up to ten percent on heating bills. This, therefore, means that putting on a jumper will allow you to set your thermostat at a significantly lower temperature and could save you more than $150/year on your heating bill. Considering this, why don’t you start wearing extra layers of clothing before cranking up the temperatures.
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