During the summer, you’ll use your HVAC system just as much to keep the home cool as you did in the winter to keep it warm. Although your indoor temperature may vary due to personal tastes, the recommended temperature to maintain is between 72 and 76 degrees. This gives you both a comfortable home temperature that is easy to live with while also giving you an efficient temperature setting that will save you money on your energy bill.
The best way to do this is to incorporate a programmable thermostat. Unlike a manual thermostat that maintains a constant temperature at all times, a programmable thermostat lets you set different temperature settings for different times
of the day.
For example, during the night when you are asleep, you can set your thermostat to allow a slightly higher temperature. When you are at rest, you can maintain a comfortable home temperature even though the thermostat is set a bit higher. Conversely, during the day when you are more active, the thermostat will automatically make sure the home is cooled down a few extra degrees to maintain that same comfortable home temperature even when you are awake.
The added benefit to this is that you can program in a slightly higher temp when you are at work. After all, you don’t need to keep the house chilled when no one is there to feel it, and by the time you get home, a programmable thermostat will have automatically gotten the temperature down to exactly where you want it.
Sure, there are other things you can do like incorporating fans in your home to blow air around to keep you feeling cooler, and opening windows at night while turning off your HVAC system completely. But nothing else keeps you more comfortable while saving energy consumption than a programmable thermostat. It the most effective and efficient way to keep your home cooled, all summer long.
For more advice about programmable thermostats and other home comfort tips for the summer, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. Serving the Twin Cities metropolitan area since 1974.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about having a comfortable home temperature and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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