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If a trip out of Charlotte or out of North Carolina is in your family’s vacation plans, you’ve probably made arrangements for someone to take care of your pets or houseplants. However, you may not have considered what to do about your home’s HVAC system. A programmable thermostat can help make your vacation more affordable by saving energy while you are away.
Programmable thermostats help homeowners save energy without sacrificing comfort year ’round by allowing you to set default temperatures for different times of the day. This means you can heat or cool your house less at times when nobody’s home or when the whole house is asleep. For maximum efficiency, set the thermostat 4 -6 degrees warmer or colder at these times, because your thermostat will have to work extra hard to change the temperature by 10 or more degrees. This will negate some of the energy you saved by allowing the house to cool down or warm up and can cause VERY LONG recovery time in extreme weather conditions.
Of course, it is technically possible to achieve the same basic effect with a standard thermostat, but you would have to remember to manually adjust the temperature many times a day.
With a standard thermostat, you can wait quite a bit of time between adjusting the temperature and feeling the difference. A programmable thermostat, however, will automatically make sure your home is the right temperature when you return home. If necessary, you can override the temperature setting manually at any time without affecting the daily and weekly default temperatures.
These thermostats also have a “hold/permanent/vacation” mode which you can use when you’ll be away from your home for the weekend or longer. It is best to set the “hold/permanent/vacation” mode at a constant setting that is more efficient than your day-to-day temperature: warmer than usual in summer and cooler than usual in winter.
If you are interested in learning more about thermostats or have any other HVAC questions, don’t hesitate to contact the professionals at Acosta Heating, Cooling & Electrical. With nearly 40 years of experience serving the Charlotte metro area, our associates have the knowledge needed to provide expert advice about your HVAC concerns.
