Setback Thermostats
Thermostats control heating and cooling appliances in houses. A setback thermostat gives the user the option of changing the temperature setting automatically at night and also during the work day when the occupants have left the house. A setback thermostat can help reduce overall household energy consumption.
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[edit] Conventional Thermostat
A conventional thermostat simply regulates house heating at one temperature. For instance, in the winter, if you set the thermostat to 20°C (68°F), it will activate the heating system when the house temperature drops below 20°C and will shut the system off when the house air warms up past 20°C.
[edit] Setback Thermostat
A setback thermostat contains an electronic clock. It can automatically turn down the temperature setting at night, when you are asleep, or during the day, when you are at work. It can also return the temperature to a more comfortable level before you wake up or arrive home from work. That way, you can have the energy savings of a lowered thermostat setting without the discomfort of having to wait for the house to heat up again.
[edit] Features
Cost factor: Low/Medium
Energy savings: High
Technical difficulty: Medium
- Reduces energy consumption in the home by automatically reducing the temperature in the house to a specific level for specified periods during the day or night.
- An 8 hour night setback of 5 degrees Celsius will pay back the cost of the thermostat in about 2 years. And then SAVE$, SAVE$, SAVE$
- The dual setback feature is even better. You can program it to turn down during the day, when you aren’t there, and at night - and have it warm up just in time for your wake-up or for your homecoming! The 7 day option allows you to set the weekdays and the weekends.
[edit] General Thermostat Operation
You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. By turning your thermostat back 10°–15° for 8 hours, you can save about 5%–15% a year on your heating bill—a savings of as much as 1% for each degree if the setback period is eight hours long. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates.
In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning, too, by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away, and lowering the thermostat setting to 78°F (26°C) only when you are at home and need cooling. Although thermostats can be adjusted manually, programmable thermostats will avoid any discomfort by returning temperatures to normal as you wake or return home.
A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. This misconception has been dispelled by years of research and numerous studies. The fuel required to reheat a building to a comfortable temperature is roughly equal to the fuel saved as the building drops to the lower temperature. You save fuel between the time that the temperature stabilizes at the lower level and the next time heat is needed. So, the longer your house remains at the lower temperature, the more energy you save.
