Here in the Bay Area, we have milder winters than much of the rest of the country. But it still gets chilly in our neck of the woods, especially at night. Since the overnight hours tend to be the times of day that our furnaces work the hardest, those are also the best hours to conserve energy by using your thermostat wisely. Today we’re going to talk about how choosing the rightthermostat temperature at night can improve the overall efficiency of your home!
Why are the overnight hours ideal for conserving energy during winter?
The hours you spend sleeping are typically some of the coldest hours of the day during winter, and also the times that your furnace is consuming the most energy to keep your home warm. So any steps that you take to ease the load on your furnace overnight can have a big payoff when it comes to conserving energy and lowering your utility bills.
One of the best ways to help out your furnace at night is to use a lower thermostat temperature. According to the EPA, lowering your thermostat just one degree over an 8 hour period can save 1 percent off of that day’s energy consumption. The more degrees you lower your thermostat, the more energy you can save.
Programmable thermostats make it simple to conserve energy at home. These thermostats can be set to automatically lower your home’s temperature at the time that you typically go to sleep, and then they raise the temperature back up to normal before you even get out of bed in the morning!
What’s a good thermostat temperature to use at night?
The best thermostat temperature to use at night is the lowest one that will still allow you to sleep comfortably. A good rule of thumb is to set your thermostat about 5 degrees lower than you have it set at during the day.
So if your thermostat is normally set at 70 degrees, try setting it back to 65 degrees overnight and test how it feels. If you think you can handle a lower temperature, give it a shot! If that’s too cold, raise it one degree at a time until you find the most comfortable setting for you and your family.
Bundle up at night to maximize savings
The best part about sleeping during winter is that you can always add more layers of sheets and blankets to stay warm, in addition to wearing warm and comfy clothes to bed. In fact, throwing on an extra blanket might be just what you need to sleep comfortably and still use an energy-saving thermostat setting overnight!
If you have any questions about what to use as your thermostat temperature at night, or if you’d like a heating and cooling system serviced or installed in your home, contact Cabrillo, your Bay Area plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor.