Why You Need a Programmable Thermostat Today

Imagine if your furnace or air conditioner ran full blast, 24 hours a day, depending on the weather. You didn’t have a choice, it was either all on, or all off.

Fortunately, our HVAC systems don’t operate that way. Instead, we have a handy little unit fixed to a wall somewhere in your home where you can control the temperature and keep the air conditioned to your liking.

But the programmable thermostat hasn’t always been around. In fact, they didn’t make it into homes for years after their invention. Some of the earliest thermostats recorded were in industrial settings, where people had to regulate the temperature in mills and lab environments. As people better understood their advantages, they slowly moved to residential applications.

But even so, the on-off concept isn’t sophisticated enough for full energy efficiency. The more your HVAC can run itself, dependent on the variables you select to keep your home properly conditioned, the more efficient it will be.

Why a programmable thermostat?

The biggest reason is to control your home’s environment without having to think about it. With a programmable thermostat, you can select when your furnace or air conditioner turns on, and keep your home as warm or as cool as you like, every hour of the day. It will control how often your heating or cooling system turns on based on the temperature you preselect. And you can change it as often as you like, based on your needs. What’s more, you can predefine it for every day of the week, meaning your Monday schedule can be different from your Saturday routine, because who does the same thing every day of the week?

What’s the biggest benefit?

Outside of having a comfortable house without thinking about it, installing a programmable thermostat will save you money over time. When people have a traditional thermostat, it’s easy to forget to adjust the temperature when you leave your home. With a programmable thermostat, you can change the way your house is conditioned based on your normal routine. If your furnace heats your home for eight hours while you’re at work, for example, that adds a lot to the bottom line of your utility bill. Something you don’t have to think about with a programmable thermostat.

It goes beyond that

Controlling your schedule is a nice benefit, but a programmable thermostat will also provide you with a host of information, all at one glance. Today’s sophisticated thermostats can provide you with information about temperature, whether your system needs a new filter, or even make a suggestion about ways to save even more. With smart technology, you can also access your thermostat anywhere with internet access. That means if your plans change, you can adjust your settings, helping you save even more.