The temperature you set your thermostat to during the summer and winter significantly impacts your comfort level and energy bills. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about your thermostat settings so that you can strike a balance between comfort and energy savings. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know to help you determine your optimal thermostat settings and discuss other ways to save on your heating and cooling costs without sacrificing comfort too much.
Best Thermostat Settings for Summer and Winter
In truth, there’s no such thing as the “best” thermostat settings since everyone has their personal preferences in terms of how warm or cool they want their house to be during summer and winter. Nonetheless, you generally want to ensure you don’t have your heating or air conditioning set too high since it will increase your energy bills and often shorten the lifespan of your HVAC system. As to what constitutes too high, most experts say that you should never set your thermostat above 68-70 degrees during the winter. In Arizona, you can often set your heating to around 68 degrees throughout the daytime without feeling too chilly.
In terms of air conditioning, it’s recommended to set your thermostat to 70 degrees or higher. However, the extreme Arizona heat means your AC will run constantly throughout the day if your thermostat is set below 80 degrees. That’s why many experts will say you should instead turn your AC up to 80 degrees so that it runs less and you save money on your energy bills. If you find that 80 degrees feels too hot, you can always use fans so that you feel cooler and still reduce your electricity consumption.
The best option is to run any ceiling fans in your room. When the fans spin counterclockwise, they produce a downdraft and create a breeze that blows directly on you.
Understanding the Fan Setting on Your Thermostat
Another thing you want to do is make sure that the fan setting on your thermostat is set correctly. In most cases, you always want to leave the fan set to “Auto” instead of “On.” If the fan is set to “On,” it will run constantly even when your air conditioning and heating are off. Not only does having the fan run constantly waste energy on its own, but it can also negatively impact your comfort and lead to your AC and heating running more.
The issue when the fan runs constantly is that it will quickly start pumping hot air into each room after your AC shuts off or putting out cold air when your heating is off. You only want to set the fan to “On” if you don’t need to have your AC or heating on and are just looking to circulate air to improve ventilation.
The Benefits of Setting Back Your Thermostat
You should have your thermostat set to the temperature ranges we mentioned earlier when you’re home and awake. During the other times when you’re at work or asleep, you want to make sure you adjust the temperature on your thermostat so that your HVAC system runs less. Leaving your thermostat always set to the same temperature is a significant waste of energy since there’s no reason to keep your home as cool or warm when no one is there.
You don’t always need to lower your thermostat overnight during the summer since your AC usually won’t need to run much or at all after the sun goes down and your home is thoroughly cool. Nonetheless, you should always turn your heating down at night to save energy. After all, you can always use more or heavier blankets if you prefer to sleep much warmer.
The EPA recommends setting back or adjusting your thermostat by 7 to 10 degrees when you’re at work since doing so can reduce the energy your HVAC system uses by up to 10%. Setting your thermostat back this much while you’re at work and at night generally isn’t an issue in the winter. However, in a scorching climate like Arizona, you usually don’t want to set your thermostat back by more than 3-4 degrees during the day.
If you set it back much more than this, it will take your AC a long time to finally catch up after you switch your thermostat back to the standard setting. In some cases, your AC may never catch up and have to run continuously until much later at night when the temperature outside has finally dropped enough that your house no longer heats up.
Why Investing in a Smart Thermostat Is a Great Decision
In terms of setting your thermostat back, you’ll always see the biggest benefits if you program your thermostat instead of just manually turning it up and down at different times. While you can do this with any type of programmable thermostat, your best option is to install a smart thermostat if you don’t already have one. As for any kind of smart device, a smart thermostat connects to your Wi-Fi network, enabling you to control it using an app on your phone or tablet.
The app makes it much easier to program your time and temperature settings than a standard programmable thermostat. It also allows you to view and adjust the settings and check the current temperature in your house at any time, no matter where you are.
Adjusting your thermostat setting on the fly, even when you’re not home, makes lowering your energy bills and improving your comfort easy. Let’s say you usually have the thermostat set to switch back to the normal setting around an hour before you get home. On an extremely hot day, you may want to switch so that the temperature changes two hours before you get off work so that you can ensure your house is fully cooled down when you arrive.
Alternatively, let’s say there’s a situation where you have to work much later than usual or have an event to go to straight after work. In this case, you can quickly change it so that the temperature doesn’t change until later to reduce the energy your HVAC uses.
Another advantage of smart thermostats is that many of them have an app feature that lets you check how much energy your HVAC has been using. You can then use this feature to tweak your temperature settings and quickly see what effect they have on your AC or heating’s energy consumption. Many units also give you tips in the app on reducing your energy bills by making minor adjustments to the thermostat settings.
For over 20 years, El Indio AC has offered exceptional home comfort services in Tolleson and throughout the West Valley. Whether your heating or AC needs repairs or servicing, or you’re looking to install a new AC, furnace, or heat pump, you can trust our team of experts to handle the job accurately and professionally. We offer same-day service and are here 24/7 for all your emergency needs. If you want to install a smart thermostat in your home or need any other HVAC service, like home automation, contact us today.