What Temperature Should I Set My Home Thermostat to?

Most Americans – about nine of ten, according to a recent study – say they’ve rarely or never programmed their thermostat because they simply don’t know how it works. That’s a shame, since managing the temperature of your Massachusetts home with a programmable thermostat is one of the easiest ways we know to save energy and lower heating bills.

If you don’t have one, installing a programmable or Wi-Fi thermostat is a smart move: used correctly, it will typically pay for itself in energy savings alone the first year you own it, especially here in New England where we’re reliant on our heating systems for eight months a year or more.

But what thermostat settings will give you the best energy-saving bang for the buck? Let’s take a look.

Best temperatures for your programmable thermostat

Once you learn how to use your programmable thermostat, the U.S Department of Energy suggests the following settings for an optimum balance of comfort and savings:

Winter months:

• When you’re home and awake, set the thermostat for 68°F (most programmable thermostats will enable you to set times for waking, sleeping, leave and return times).
• Lower temperatures by 10° for the hours you’re asleep or out of the house.

Summer months:

• When you’re home and awake, program air conditioning to 78°F.
• Program the A/C to shut off during the hours you’re out of the house.

In general:

• Program heat (or A/C) to shut off 20-30 minutes before you leave home each day; return them to normal comfort levels 20 to 30 minutes before you come home.*
• Program reductions in heating or cooling to begin 60 minutes before you go to sleep; return them to normal comfort levels 30 minutes before you awaken.

Be smart and save on your monthly energy bills during winter and beyond. Want to save even more? Contact us today to learn about high-efficiency propane and heating oil equipment installation and service in Worcester, MA and our surrounding central Massachusetts service area.

* If you have Wi-Fi thermostat, you can control your home’s temperature from your smartphone!