Your air conditioning can offer a cool retreat from the summertime heat, but how you set your thermostat can be a careful balance between comfort and savings. To put it simply, the bigger the difference between the temperature inside and outside the home the more energy you will use.
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting your thermostat to 78 degrees when you are home and up to 10 degrees warmer when you are away. Many people find this to be the best balance between comfort and savings. Try setting your thermostat to 81 degrees for a few hours, then over the next few days lower it one degree at a time to find the temperature that works best for your household.
During the summer, keeping the house warmer when you’re away can mean serious savings. It can be hard to remember to change the temperature each time you leave. A smart thermostat can handle that for you. Many smart thermostats have a feature called occupancy sensing. This means the thermostat can tell when the house is vacant and will adjust the temperature for you, saving energy while you’re away. To help kick off the savings, Salem Electric offers a $100 incentive for qualifying smart thermostats. For more information and energy-saving tips visit our Energy Efficiency page.
