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Warm House, Low Bills: How to Set Your Programmable Thermostat for Fall

Heating & Cooling Tips

woman-programming-thermostat-fall-savings-jeremy-kcWhen the weather begins to chill it can be awfully tempting to crank the heat up in your home and leave it there until spring begins to bloom. If you have a programmable furnace in your home then you’re in luck!

Programmable thermostats allow homeowners the luxury of a warm, toasty home to come back to after work without paying a fortune to keep it that way for almost half the year. Here are some nifty tips on setting your thermostat that will keep your house warm, and your energy bills low, throughout the fall and winter months.

Don’t Waste Your Heat on the Furniture

If a tree falls in the woods, but no one’s around to hear, it does it make a sound? The same can be said of a home in the winter, if it’s cold, but there’s no one around to freeze their butt off, does it even really matter?

Keep your energy bill low by setting your programmable thermostat a few degrees lower during the day while you’re at work. Then, set the thermostat to return to a toastier temperature about thirty minutes before you come home. This way, you still get to enjoy the warmth when you first get home, but you get to save some money while you’re away.

Sleep Through the Cold

When you’re all tucked in and warm in your bed, program the thermostat to a lower heat. If you keep the bedroom doors closed and use a big, thick blanket on your bed during the colder months, then you won’t mind the drop in temperature one bit. Just make sure to program the heat to turn back on about a half hour before you wake up so you don’t feel like you’re walking into a snowstorm come morning.

Keep the Heat at a Reasonable Level

We all love a cozy home with a nice warm living room to enjoy a good book or TV show, but if you want to keep those bills at a reasonable level then do the same with your thermostat. An electric blanket or space heater can make up for the loss of a few degrees on the thermostat, but still save you money in the long run.

Related Read: 13 Space Heater Safety Tips

Never Turn Your Heat Completely Off

Just remember, letting your home cool down when you’re not around doesn’t mean turning the heat completely off. Pipes can freeze and burst and that can lead to a far more expensive bill than keeping your thermostat turned up.