What to keep Thermostat on?
Question:I don't know how to work a thermostat at all on auto or "on" but I heard that you are suppose to keep the thermostat temp on what you wan tthe temp of your house to be. So I live in Texas and Everyone in my house is gone during the day. I heard you are supose to keep it on 80 when you're gone and like 7? when your home. I am trying to lower the electric bill which is usually $500+ during the summer and only 4 of us live in my 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house. So what can I do to solve this problem.
Answers:
I live in Oregon and have a heat pump. I have a thermostat which I set with the highest temp I want the house to get and if it goes over that, the a/c goes on. I also set the temp for as low as I want it to get and when it goes below that number, the heat will kick on.
I don't know what kind of thermostat you have, or what your comfort level is. Personally, I set it for the heat to kick on at 67 and the a/c to go on at 76. I'm comfortable anywhere in that range. Some warm days, I turn the thermostat off and just let the house get as warm as it is outside. In Oregon, that's rarely over low 80's. My electric bill never hits $100 and everything in the house is electric, including a dryer and hot water heater.
I have friends who live in Arizona and tell me that they're very accustomed to the heat and don't turn their a/c on until it's over 80. I think that how much heat you can handle is an individual thing.
Insulation and dressing appropriately are two ways to save on utilities. If you're not the owner, you are limited in what you can do about insulating. It does surprise me how some people will wear shorts and a tee shirt around the house in the winter and turn the heat up to compensate. If they'd dress more warmly, they'd save money.
Do you have awnings or some kind of shades over the windows to keep the sun off the glass? Could you close the drapes in the day to help keep the heat out? Do you have obvious air leaks, where you feel a breeze coming in? Could you caulk the leaky areas? Does it cool off at night so that you could let cool air in at night? Are you using fans in the house? A higher temp is more tolerable if you have a breeze from a fan.
Some places, the utility companies have weatherization programs. They'll come out and do an assessment of how much heat or cool air your house is leaking out. That's free. They'll make recommendations about how to weatherproof and often have free or low cost programs to get the work done. Call the utility and ask if they have a weatherization program.
78 degrees
First, try turning it off during the day and see how hot your house gets. I had a shaded apartment in Dallas that never gained more than a degree during the day.
If it's quite hot when you get home, consider installing a thermostat with a timer. Should cost no more than maybe $35, and comes with installation instructions. Set it to 70 or 72 and have it turn off when you leave and on 30 minutes before you get home.
Be sure to close all curtains or blinds facing south and west. Don't help the sun!
Finally, go green. Replace all lightbulbs with compact flourescents. They use about 20 percent of the power and give the same light. Unplug all those charger bricks for phones, iPods, etc. They use power even when your device is not attached. The easy way is to put them all on one power strip and switch it off 12 hours per day. With 4 people, it's likely that electric usage other than AC is making a big contribution to your bill. Pay attention, and cut wherever you can.
Good luck!
A programmable thermostat is way you want to go, and closing the blinds on the sunny side of the house during the day. I also open the windows on the windward side of the house at night and during the cooler morning hours to pre-cool the house. About 80 degrees during the day when your not home is probably good, and about 30 minutes before you get home have the thermostat programmed to 74-76 degrees. You might consider upgrading your insulation if your bill doesn't decrease.
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