Did you know that the San Francisco area’s electricity prices are almost twice as much as the U.S. average? For instance, its electricity rate in June 2022 was $0.311 per kilowatt-hour, while the U.S. average was only $0.16. Even piped (natural) gas was $0.578 more expensive per therm.
Even worse, many Bay Area residents will see electricity and natural gas price hikes in 2023. That’s especially true for PG&E customers, who may pay about $377 more annually per household in 2023.
The good news is that tweaking your HVAC thermostat settings can help you save on energy bills. We’ll tell you how with our tips below, so read on.
1. Set the Temperature Higher During Summer
One of the best things about SF is that its average highest temperature of the year is 72° F, which is still tolerable. Likewise, its average lowest daily temperature of 55° F is also pretty comfortable.
So why not take advantage of that and set your AC thermostat 7° to 10° higher than usual during the daytime? Do this when no one is at home, such as if you’re at work and the kids are in school.
Doing so can lower your air conditioner’s energy usage, helping cut your HVAC energy bill. After all, the smaller the difference between the temp inside and outside your home, the less work your AC has to do.
As a result, you get to save money on your cooling costs. And if you keep that setting for at least eight hours, you can maximize your energy savings.
In addition, that slight indoor-outdoor temperature difference slows heat penetration from outside. So the higher your home’s temperature is in the summer, the less impact the outdoor heat has on it. That reduces your AC’s cooling load, helping you achieve your cost-cutting goals.
What about at night, when everyone’s about to sleep?
The experts at Energy Star recommend a thermostat adjustment of 4° during sleep time. You might even feel comfortable enough to set it higher when the summer nights are cooler and milder.
2. Set the Thermostat Lower in Winter
You can apply the same strategy of tweaking your thermostat by 7° to 10° come wintertime. The primary difference is that you’d have to set the temperature back, or lower, instead of higher.
For instance, let’s say that 75° F is your usual winter daytime thermostat setting. To save energy, you can set it back to 68° F or even 65° F for at least eight hours each day while no one’s home.
Those savings also have to do with the slight indoor-outdoor temperature difference. In this case, your heater doesn’t have to work harder to achieve a higher interior temperature.
Moreover, the lower the temperature inside your home, the more slowly it loses heat. Thus, keeping your thermostat setting lower helps keep the heat inside for longer. That reduces your heater’s energy consumption, which then saves you money.
Then, at night, you can adjust the thermostat again by 4° F or lower, depending on your sleep preference. You might even get better ZZZs if your bedroom’s temperature is between 60° and 67° F.
Besides, you can always warm yourself up with blankets if it gets too chilly at night. That won’t cost you anything, so it’s a good backup if you need more heat without jacking up your energy bills.
3. Pre-Program Your Thermostat Settings
The tips above can help save you money, but manual thermostat adjustments can be tedious. And those are tweaks you need to do every day if you still have an analog thermostat.
Fortunately, you no longer have to if you upgrade to either a programmable or a smart thermostat.
Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat allows you to pre-set thermostat schedules. With this nifty device, you can set your HVAC to turn on and heat or cool your home to the temperature you’ve pre-set. Moreover, it can save multiple daily pre-sets and repeat them based on your settings.
So, suppose everyone in your family is out of the house by 8:30 in the morning and back by 5:30 PM every weekday. In that case, you can set up or setback your programmable thermostat by 7° to 10° F from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Mondays to Fridays. You can also have the thermostat automatically adjust to your preferred nighttime temperature.
Likewise, you can input your preferred temperature settings for weekends. And in case you want to override a specific day’s settings, you can do so without affecting the rest of your pre-sets.
Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat can do everything that a programmable thermostat can and more.
For example, a smart thermostat lets you pre-set schedules for heating and cooling. Hence, it also lets you specify when and at which temperature your HVAC system should heat or cool your home. And like a programmable thermostat, it can also store multiple daily pre-sets.
One of the things a smart thermostat can do that a typical programmable one can’t is to connect to the Internet. And because it’s a connected device, it can do whatever you tell it to remotely. So, for instance, you can instruct it to turn the HVAC system on or off with just a few taps on your mobile phone.
That also means you can tweak your thermostat settings even if you’re out of the house. That can be useful if there’s a sudden change in the weather (i.e., a drop in the temperature due to an unpredicted rain).
Another advantage of a smart thermostat is its learning ability. It can recognize patterns in your heating and cooling activities. That lets it create better schedules that help boost HVAC efficiency and savings.
However, one drawback to smart thermostats is that they often don’t work with old HVAC systems. So if you have an aging system and want advanced functionalities, it may be time for a heater or AC replacement. Besides, modern HVAC systems are more energy-efficient, anyway.
Save Money With Optimal Thermostat Settings
And there you have it, your ultimate guide on how to save money by tweaking your thermostat settings. Just remember that it’s a 7° to 10° setup during summer and a 7° to 10° setback in the winter. And don’t forget that investing in a smart thermostat is the most convenient way to save even more.
Are you ready to upgrade to a more efficient thermostat or HVAC system? Then our team of experts can help! Contact us now to learn more about our heating and air conditioning services in the Bay Area.
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