There are two major advantages in installing a programmable thermostat in your home. The first is that it is more accurate than the old slide thermostats and mercury thermostats. A good programmable thermostat gives more control of the heating/cooling and makes a home more comfortable. The second advantage is that a programmable thermostat, if used correctly, can reduce HVAC bills by as much as a third. This is great news for home finances as well as the environment. The environment benefits because a drop in electricity use means a drop in carbon emissions from power stations that burn fossil fuels. This post will go through some of the main considerations when buying a programmable thermostat.
Type
There are several types of programmable thermostat. The main types are: 1 week thermostat (1 program slot); 5+2 (2 program slots – one for weekdays and one for the weekend); 5-1-1 (one slot for weekdays and one for Saturday and one for Sunday) and 7 day (one slot for each day of the week). For those who are retired or stay at home looking after a baby a 1 week thermostat is usually adequate. Those who keep the same hours during the week and tend to go to bed at the same time at the weekend a 5+2 or 5-1-1 is fine. For those with complicated schedules a 7 day thermostat is recommended. To give the reader an idea on prices the 1 week Honeywell RTH221B costs about $25. The Lux Products TX1500E is a 5-1-1 thermostat that costs about $40. A good 7 day thermostat such as the Honeywell RTH8500D costs about $100.
The main thing is to get a thermostat that allows the user to reduce the heating/cooling when nobody is at home and to make the home comfortable when the user wakes up or returns from work. By looking at an individual’s or household’s schedule it can be determined what type of thermostat is the best for a particular home.
Climate Zone
The choice of programmable thermostat can be affected by the climate where a home is located. If a home is in a temperate zone that gets neither too hot in summer nor very cold in winter then this issue is not so serious. Honeywell thermostats are popular for this type of situation as they keep room temperature within 1 degree Fahrenheit of the programmed set point. For those people living with extreme temperatures the function known as swing control is useful as it allows the user to stop the furnace and air-con turning on with every small change in room temperature. Thermostats made by Lux Products and Hunter usually have this function.
For those people who live in high humidity zones the Lux Products TX1500E measures relative humidity in a room. The Honeywell TH8321 VisionPro 8000 uses the air-con to keep humidity levels comfortable.
Other Functions
All good programmable thermostats allow the user 4 periods to set up per program. Another function that all good thermostats have is smart response or adaptive intelligent recovery. This is a function that uses PID technology to make constant changes to the programs so that a home is always the right temperature at the start of a programmed period. This greatly adds to the comfort of a home. Other functions that are useful include filter change warning, temporary hold and vacation mode.
Programming
Many new thermostats use touchscreen programming. This technology simplifies programming for many people use to using devices such as iPods. Other people feel button programming works better and is more responsive.
It is hoped that this guide has clarified some issues about which programmable thermostat to buy. It is an important decision and worth spending time on research to find the right device.