The Most Energy‑Efficient Thermostat Setting for Winter

With winter coming, you probably want to stay warm inside your home, especially during the cold desert nights in Arizona.

But you’re probably asking yourself at what point can you be comfortable and still save money on energy bills throughout winter.

We’ll explore things you can do to help yourself stay as energy-efficient as possible while staying comfortable and warm. All of which only involve your thermostat.

In this blog, we’ll go over:

The lowest of Arizona’s winter temperatures average is around 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Energy.gov recommends setting back your thermostat about 7 to 10 degrees lower than your desired household temperature for at least 8 hours a day during winter. Applying such a practice to your life can save you as much as 10% on your heating bills.

For example, say your preferred temperature to keep your house warm during winter is 77 degrees. When you’re away from your home or asleep, you can set your thermostat somewhere between 67 and 70 degrees in those inactive hours to be more energy efficient and cost efficient.

Setting back your thermostat 7-10 degrees doesn’t take much effort and energy on the part of your furnace system to warm your home back to that desired 77 degrees. And the home won't lose so much heat during the period that you wake up or come home to an environment colder than comfortable.

The great thing is that this practice can also apply just as effectively in the warmer months, just in the opposite direction (as in, keeping your home 7 to 10 degrees warmer than your desired temperature).

It may not seem like the most obvious thing, but the location of your thermostat is critical when making sure your entire heating system operates efficiently.

A thermostat measures air temperature and responds accordingly to change it. If it’s in an area that is regularly exposed to sunlight, an exterior wall or tucked away from the center of your home where airflow and temperature changes naturally occur, you might receive inaccurate readings. When your thermostat cannot accurately measure air temperature, it will use your entire system inefficiently and cost you more money in unnecessary heating expenses.

An HVAC technician can review your thermostat’s current location and tell you if it needs relocation to help you save money.

One of the most efficient ways to control the temperature in your home is through a programmable thermostat. You can program your thermostat to operate and heat your home during the hours that you know you’ll be active within it, asleep, or not present. A programmable thermostat takes the stress of remembering to alter your home temperatures off your shoulders by allowing you to pre-set the temperatures preemptively.

There are multiple types of programmable thermostats you can purchase and have installed, of which include:

• 5+2 Day Models: This model provides two different schedule settings to you. One schedule with the same temperature changes from Monday through Friday, and one for Saturday and Sunday. It’s generally the least flexible of all the programmable thermostat models available.
• 5-1-1 Day Models: While it's similar to the 5+2 Day model, the 5-1-1 day model changes the temperature settings between Saturday and Sunday.
• 7 Day Models: You can set a unique temperature schedule for every day of the week.
• Smart Models: Smart Thermostats like Nest, Lyric, and Ecobee allow you to set and change your temperature settings from your phone, wherever you are. They’re the most flexible of the programmable thermostat options available to you.

Here’s an example of a temperature schedule you could implement, whether it be with a programmable thermostat or manually:

• 7am -- Wake up and set the temperature to 77 degrees
• 8am -- Leave for work, setting your temperature to 70 degrees
• 6pm -- Arrive home, with temperatures set to 77 degrees once more
• 10pm -- Go to bed; temperatures decrease to 70 degrees through the night

You can, of course, change this to fit your needs to whatever is most comfortable for you this winter.

Protip: If you have a programmable thermostat, schedule your temperature changes to start 15-30 minutes before waking up or getting home from work. That way, you aren't tempted to stay in bed because it's cold out and you avoid coming back to a chilly home.

It’s important to be aware that different systems require certain capabilities from the thermostats tied to them. Understanding how your heating and cooling systems operate is an essential factor in discerning the type of programmable thermostat to acquire if you’re looking to make that change.

For instance, according to the Department of Energy, it isn't advisable to use most programmable thermostats if you use a heat pump in winter. Heat pumps operate similarly to a central AC unit by cooling your home, but they can also heat your home.

It's inefficient to use most programmable thermostats with heat pumps because they can't handle the demands of setting back the thermostat. Expecting heat pumps to have a quick turnover time in temperature without consuming massive amounts of energy can wear out your heating system, cost you more money, and shorten its lifespan.

Similar issues can arise if your home uses electric resistance, steam, or radiant floor heating.

Thankfully, there are programmable thermostats that are compatible with these more complicated heating systems!