The easiest way to save on heating and cooling bills is a programmable thermostat. Automate the daily temperature cycle in your home: in the summer, set the temperature higher during the workday and at night when you’re sleeping; lower in the winter months. Set the device to cool down the house by the time you get home from work, and before you wake in the morning. Every degree, each hour the inside temperature deviates from the setpoint, you save.
Most monitored security systems have an integral thermostat package, often a free add-on. There are many industry apps that let you adjust the temperature remotely, and to monitor the temperature when you’re gone. Most systems let you adjust the temperature manually without discombobulating the daily schedule, so you maintain full control of your home environment. My central HVAC system has a really fancy thermostat that’s not only programmable but lets the service people monitor the system remotely. IT even tells me when it’s time to change the air filter.
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Excerpted from Going Green, available as an eBook at this list of eBook retailers online.