The Central Valley is already experiencing days with highs in the 90s, and summer hasn’t even officially started. Now is when you’ll get the most use from your air conditioning system. If you’ve taken good care of it and kept up with regular maintenance (it’s not too late to schedule it!), the air conditioning system in your house has the best chance of making it through the hot weather with few problems.
But you might be forcing your air conditioning system in Clovis, CA to do more work than necessary because of the way you set the thermostat. If you fiddle with the thermostat settings throughout the day, you’re almost certainly wasting energy and not receiving ideal comfort levels. Here’s our guide to setting your thermostat for energy-saving HVAC performance this summer.
Why Extremely Low Settings on the Thermostat Waste Energy
When you look at the range of settings on a thermostat and you see the lowest is 60°F (standard for most models), it’s tempting to push the thermostat down to this extreme when it gets roasting hot outdoors. How better to combat a 90°F–100°F day than by having the thermostat “fight back” harder with cold temperatures?
But this isn’t how a thermostat, or home heating and cooling, works. Lowering the thermostat isn’t like pressing down the gas pedal on a car to get “more power” or make the AC work faster. What happens is the air conditioner’s compressor runs longer to reach the low setting—and that consumes a lot of energy. It also causes faster heat gain. The greater the temperature difference between the indoors and the outdoors, the faster heat from outdoors will enter the home. To save energy and enjoy comfort, you want to find a balance that slows down heat gain and doesn’t force the AC to work longer than necessary.
Energy-Saving Summer Comfort Settings for Your Thermostat
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting the thermostat to 78°F during the day when people are home. If you find this temperature is too warm for the household, we recommend you set it a few degrees lower, such as 72°F, and then raise it by one degree per day until everyone becomes accustomed to the higher temperature. Remember, the smaller the gap between indoor and outdoor temperatures, the slower your house gains heat.
During the night, or at times when nobody is home, set or program the thermostat to 8° to 10°F warmer. This can help you save 10% on your cooling costs over the summer.
Installing the Right New Thermostat Makes the Job Easier
Once you’ve learned the best settings for your thermostat, there’s still a problem that can get in the way of ensuring you always have the ideal temperatures: human error. If you have a programmable thermostat, it’s much easier to have the right settings. But if you want a thermostat that will not only make the job easier but provide additional savings and convenience, we recommend calling us for installation of a Côr Wi-Fi thermostat from Carrier. The state-of-the-art features on a Côr thermostat can help you save 20% on your heating and cooling costs with its “smart setback” feature that adapts to your settings to optimize them. As Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer, we work directly with Carrier so our customers receive the best equipment, installed right. Contact us for more details about Côr and other options for climate controls.
Quality is the cornerstone of our success since 1952: Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning.