How To Save Money On Your
Utility Bills - Programmable Thermostats
By
Elizabeth Guinn
One of
the easiest and quickest ways to lower your utility bills is to
install a programmable thermostat in your house. An average decent
programmable thermostat will run you anywhere from $60 to $100. Of
course if your house has more than one heating and cooling unit you
will need more than one thermostat.
Even
the most well organized person will forget to adjust their manual
thermostats every time they go to bed, rise, and leave the house.
And if you have an upstairs and a downstairs thermostat, running up
and down the stairs can begin to wear on you. Unless you desire the
added exercise, then the programmable thermostat is the only way to
go.
How
exactly will a change as simple as a thermostat save you cash? The
single largest consumer of energy in the average house is the
heating and cooling system consuming 50to 70 % of the total energy
costs of a house depending on where you live. Therefore, any
reduction in energy usage is going to have a big effect on your
bottom line. For every degree that you lower your thermostat for an
eight hour period, you lower your energy usage by 1%. So if you can
stand to sleep with the household temperature ten degrees lower at
night during the winter, then you could save 10% on your energy
costs with just that one change alone. With a 7-day programmable
thermostat you could not only lower the temps at night but also
during the day if everyone is either at school or work. And the
change will be painless because you can program the thermostat to
warm things up before you get home from work.
With
such a small initial outlay of cash and just a little work by either
yourself or your favorite home improvement contractor, you could
have this home improvement paid for and earning you cash in around 6
months. There aren’t many projects that can boast that kind of quick
turnaround.
Elizabeth Guinn is an Urban Systems Engineer with a
degree from George Mason University. She and her husband are custom
home builders and designers in Virginia's Tidewater area. Combined
they have over 40 years experience in the design and construction
fields. They adhere to Green construction practices and are members
of the U.S. Green Building Council. Visit us on the web
http://www.danguinnhomes.com
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