PAGE 6 | JANUARY 2014
Turn down thermostat to turn up savings BY JULIANN GRAHAM, Communications Coordinator
home’s annual budget. Te average U.S. homeowner spends $2,500 a year on home energy with 56 percent, or $1,400, going toward heating and cooling costs.
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Termostat Setting Not surprisingly, savings can add up in a hurry when heating and cooling systems are tweaked for maximum efficiency. Members can easily trim winter energy bills by setting the thermostat at 68°F while awake and back a few degrees when asleep or away from home.
Even better, turning the thermostat back 10° to 15° for eight hours can save about 5 percent to 15 percent a year on the heating bill—about 1 percent for each degree. Savings may be even greater for homes in milder climates.
Termostat Placement Te location of your thermostat can greatly affect its performance and efficiency. Members should place thermostats away from direct sunlight, drafts, doorways, skylights, and windows.
Members should read the manufacturer’s instructions to prevent “ghost readings” or unnecessary furnace cycling.
Programmable Termostats Installing a programmable thermostat can take the thought out of saving energy. Te heating and cooling system will ramp up or switch off according to a preset time of day or even day of the week. Most models let the user manually override the schedule without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program.
Programmable thermostats are generally not recommended for heat pumps. In cooling mode, a heat pump operates like an air conditioner, so turning up the thermostat will save energy and money.
eeping a home hot or cold— depending on the season— accounts for a big chunk of a
Product cost
Nest $249
(not installed) Annual or subscription fee Wi-Fi enabled Online connectivity Mobile app connectivity
Learning or automatic programming
Usage history
Energy-saving suggestions or motivations
Notification for HVAC system maintenance
Demand-response capabilities Two-way communications
Automatic switching between heating and cooling modes
No Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes
No
No No
Yes EnergyHub
Depends on hardware, but
ranges from $99 to $150
Depends on channel
Depends on hardware
Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes
No
Yes Yes Yes
aBecause EcoFactor partners with various hardware manufacturers, some of these capabilities will depend on the hardware being used.
Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Yes No
Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Depends on channel
Yes by proprietary protocol
Yes Yes Yes
No No
Yes
No No
Yes. but customer can opt out
EcoFactora
$8 to $10 per month
Honeywell
$500 to $700 installed
ecobee
$200 to $450 installed,
depending on the model
Yes-utility channel, No-service channel
Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Yes No
Yes
Yes Yes Yes
© E Source
THIS SMART THERMOSTAT PRODUCT COMPARISON PROVIDES A QUICK LOOK AT THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES OF FIVE SMART THERMOSTAT PRODUCTS. EACH PRODUCT HAS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FEATURES, BUT ALL FIVE PROVIDE AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING AND ONLINE CONNECTIVITY.
But when a heat pump works in its heating mode, setting back the thermostat can cause the unit to operate inefficiently, thereby canceling out any savings achieved by lowering the temperature. Maintaining a moderate setting is the most cost- effective practice.
To automatically manage electric resistance systems, such as electric baseboard heating, steam heating, or radiant floor heating, you will need to purchase a programmable thermostat specifically designed for the task.
Smart Termostats Smart thermostats such as the Nest Learning Termostat are emerging as a more user-friendly alternative to a programmable thermostat. So few people were properly using their programmable thermostats that Energy Star dropped its label for them in 2009. Smart thermostats provide automatic
programming and online connectivity. Often, they can be controlled from a mobile device like a smartphone. An E Source report published in 2012 said Energy Star has begun investigating a new labeling program for these devices. To learn more, members can visit the Energy Star website at
www.energystar.gov and search for ‘Climate Controls’.
Turning up Savings Regardless of the method members use, research suggests people will save energy if they manage their thermostat settings based on whether they are home or away and the time of day.
Go to
www.tcec.coop to find more ways to save. n Sources: E Source, Focus Report, TAS-F-2 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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