Programming your thermostat might help you in your energy saving programs for the sake of environment and also your money. Although programming it can save up to 10% of electricity bill, not everybody knows how to do it. But before you program your thermostat, it will be better to learn more about four different types of programmable thermostat to choose the best one for you.
- 1-week programming :
A thermostat with this program have one set heating/cooling plan that will be repeated daily for one week
- 7-day programming :
A thermostat with this program that lets you program different heating/cooling plan for each day of the week. This kind of thermostat id best for a person or family with unpredictable schedules.
- 5-1-1 programming :
A thermostat with this program allows you program a heating/cooling plan for weekdays, a different pal for Saturday, and a different plan for Sunday.
- 5-2 programming :
This kind of thermostat allows you to program a schedule of heating/cooling for the weekdays and one single (same) plan for Saturday and Sunday.
Thermostat Programming for Each Season
The next step to do is changing the factory settings. Every programmable thermostat come with a pre-programmed settings which can be changed later. You can change this programmable settings based on your and your family members’ schedule, from Sleep Time, Wake Time, Leave Time, and Return Time.Here are the temperature you need to set in each time programs.
Sleep Time : for this time, you need to decrease the heating or cooling about 60 minutes before you go to sleep each night because your body temperature will get lower when you sleep. In winter or autumn, you need to turn the heating temperature down by at least 5-8˚C or to 18˚C. In summer or spring, you need to set your cooling system around 27˚C.
Wake Time : for this time, you may need to increase the heating or cooling for about 30 minutes before waking up each morning. This way, the air around you will get warmer or cooler by the time you wake up. You need to set your heating system around 20-22˚C in winter or autumn time. While in summer or spring months, you need to set your thermostat around 24-26 ˚C.
Leave Time : for this time, you need to shut down the heating or cooling 20 to 30 minutes before leaving home each day. The remaining warm or cool air will still be around before you leave your home.
Return Time : for this time, you may need to program your thermostat to turn on the heating or cooling system 20 to 30 minutes before you arrive at home each day. This way, the house will get warm or cool enough by the time you come home. In winter or autumn months, you need to set your thermostat temperature to 20˚C. In summer or spring months, you need to set the cooling system to 26˚C.