Progammable Thermostat?

**daddys3chicks** · 10-24-2005, 09:13 AM

Are they worth the money? I am a SAHM and here most days. I am not sure it would be of value to us. I can see how they might be if the house were empty for 8 hours, but what about if you are home?

**YankeeMom** · 10-24-2005, 09:32 AM

We have one and it really does come in handy. I don't know about difference in the electric bill because it was installed in the house when we bought it. According to the Energy Dept they do save:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/...ermostats.html

You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills by simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours. You can do this automatically without sacrificing comfort by installing an automatic setback or programmable thermostat.

Using a programmable thermostat, you can adjust the times you turn on the heating or air-conditioning according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, the equipment doesn't operate as much when you are asleep or when the house or part of the house is not occupied. Programmable thermostats can store and repeat multiple daily settings (six or more temperature settings a day) that you can manually override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program. When shopping for a programmable thermostat, be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR.

I am home all day and don't mind it cold. I have it set at 59* from 8am to 10pm. I'm up & cleaning/moving all day. The older three kids are at school, youngest ds gets home, eats lunch and takes a nap with lots of blankies. Then the older kids get home & dinner gets started, which heats up the house a bit.
We have a small electric space heater that we keep running in the evenings in the living room. That's where we all are after dinner and it also is where the thermostat is so it keeps the heater from kicking on.
Dh, however, is a wuss when it comes to cold so we actually do it the opposite of most people and turn up the heat at night. From 10pm to 8am it is set on 62.

What I like is it saves me from having to watch it and turn it up or down all day long.

**Kimberlina** · 10-24-2005, 09:44 AM

We haven't turned on our heat since I installed it, but they are pretty cheap now- I think we payed $40 for ours. It was very easy to install, so you shouldn't need to have someone do it for you. I think it will be nice just not having to worry about turning it up and down, and I can program it to turn on 10 or 15 minutes before we come downstairs in the morning, so DH doesn't have to turn it on before goes to work and have it running for 2 or 3 hours before we come down. Even though we are home all day, I still think it will save us money in th long run, especially with oil prices being so high.

**sanderson76** · 10-24-2005, 10:28 AM

Our thermostat messed up a couple of months ago and we are going in invest in a programmable one, since we aren't home between the hours of 7am-4pm

**marym** · 10-24-2005, 10:39 AM

I have used one for years. I am sure it helps with our bill ( its hard to tell because the cost of oil has been going up each year

) Anyway, I keep it set around 65-68 during the day, at night it goes down to 58 (after we are asleep under lots of covers!) If I don't hear the heater runnung I am a happy girl.

**canadian gardener** · 10-24-2005, 10:48 AM

In a word

YES!!!

dh and i have put one in EVERY house for the past 20 plus years, and they pay for themselves within a year.

The ONLY time I wouldn't recommend it, is if you plan to move in 6 to 9 months, but then most people would do a rental.

If you own your own home, get one. They really work. Dh and I figure that the payback at our prices is around 6 to 9 months actually and after that it's sheer gravy!

If you rent, and are staying for a year or more, it's worth it too if you pay your own heat.