Energy Saving Tip - Programmable Thermostats

You've probably read or heard several reports by now that offers tips on where to save money on your heating and cooling costs. Surely many of the local news anchors that do pieces of this nature have mentioned a list of things you can do to save money around the house, with programmable thermostats being on most of those lists. I find however, that many news stations fail to really go in-depth on a promoted items uses and benefits. Most times they simply say: use this, it saves money.
But why use it? How does it save me money? Well the good news is: Use it. It saves money. The reason you want to invest in a programmable thermostat is because apart from the obvious savings on your energy bill, you can control the environment in your house much easier and without worrying about using excess energy. Most of these units range from $50-$100 at most home improvement stores and are surprisingly simple to install. I myself have a Honeywell model that was purchased for around $59.99 before tax. I installed it rather easily with the help of a technician I contacted after calling the toll-free number provided with the unit.
After it was up and running I was able to program the settings exactly how I want them. On certain days I may work from 9-5 so the appropriate settings were as follows. I awake on these days at 7:30 am and the unit already began heating the house up 30 minutes earlier so that it was a comfortable temperature of 68 degrees when I began my day. At 8:30 when I left, the system would back off on the heating and allow the temperature to lower to a cost efficient 55 degrees. In the evening I returned home at 6:00 pm to a comfortable home set at 68 degrees yet again because the thermostat began gradually raising the temperature 45 minutes earlier instead of burning strip heat to quickly get the temperature where I wanted it. Strip heat is incredibly taxing on your HVAC unit which will lead to replacing the system years earlier than you want to. That in itself is very expensive, not to mention the toll strip heat takes on your energy bill. Bed time was 10 pm these days so guess what.... the thermostat would again lower the temperature to a more cost efficient 62 degrees throughout the night until the cycle began all over the next morning.

To simplify my message, the plain and simple truth is that these units will pay for themselves in only a few months and the long-term savings is even more impressive. Last year my wife and I signed up for a plan with our energy company that allows us to make equal payments for 12 months based on the previous years usage. What a perfect test to see how much one of these can save you! The plan is simple. Your costs either go up or down throughout the year but you pay the same each month until the 12th and final month at which time you pay the difference if there is one. Last month was our 12th and we not only have this month of service paid for already with the big credit balance on our account, but there's a $34 credit towards next month as well. So again, at the risk of stating the obvious: Use it. It saves money.