Programmable thermostats are excellent money-saving tools, but to maximize their benefits, you have to select the right model and use its features to the fullest. The right programmable thermostat for you depends on the size of your home, its layout and the climate in which you live.

The simplest models allow you to create set times to turn your HVAC system on and off, and they also let you indicate the temperature to which you want your home heated or cooled. They will run the same program daily, unless you turn the thermostat off or override it to set your indoor temperature manually.

More advanced models feature more control options. The three most common are the “5 + 2,” the “5 + 1 + 1″ and daily models. In a 5 + 2 thermostat, you can set one program for weekdays and another for weekends. They’re helpful for people who work a set schedule from Monday to Friday and don’t need to run their heating or air conditioning throughout the day, but are home a lot on weekends. The 5 + 1 + 1 model is similar, except that it allows you to split the weekend into individual days (Saturday and Sunday). Daily programmable thermostats allow you to create individual programs for each day of the week, which will then run automatically.

Zoning systems can also be used with programmable thermostats. A zoning system splits your home into two or more zones, with individual temperature controls for each. They are most common in large homes with a lot of unused rooms and multi-level homes, where there is commonly a discrepancy between the temperature on the ground floor and the temperature in the upper floor. For example, a zoning system in a two-storey home typically allows you to heat or cool just the ground floor or the upper floor without altering the temperature of the other zone.

Comfort Services has been serving the greater Raleigh area for over ten years, and we’re happy to help you with any questions you may have about zoning systems, programmable thermostats and HVAC energy savings.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about programmable thermostats and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.