In countless ways, our lives are defined by temperature — and being able to measure temperature accurately gives us an exceptional advantage. It lets us know how much to warm or cool our homes or how much longer we need to cook a chicken dish without making everyone suffer. It assists us in diagnosing ailments and knowing whether to take a medicine or stay home.
If you aim to maximize home comfort and performance, how you set your thermostat makes a considerable impact. Heating and cooling record for as much as half of your electric bills, so making good choices can reduce your monthly utility bills.
In the summer, the ideal thermostat setting is 78 degrees F. In the winter, 68 degrees is perfect for energy savings. However, these temperatures may not apply to every situation. Here are the challenges of those who want to find the perfect home temperature:
- Humidity: Winter air is usually dry. It causes moisture to evaporate from your skin quicker than the average temperature, thus making you feel cold. Then, high humidity in the summer produces a moist feeling that urges you to run the air conditioner more.
- Home occupancy: 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer may be perfectly comfortable while you’re at home, but it depends on how many persons are inside the house. Remember that an individual has its heat that it exhales when you breathe, adding warmth to the home.
Keep Your Home Comfortable
Change the thermostat setting to your comfortable temperature. However, try this other method to help you heat up in the winter or cool off in the summer without increasing your utility bills:
- Control humidity: Running a whole-house humidifier during wintertime may let you set the temperature back a degree or two without feeling uncomfortable. In the summer, turning on the exhaust fans in the area that usually creates heat like a kitchen or bathroom helps keep humidity down.
- Install a zoning system: Zoning is a process of heating and cooling parts of your house at a time. It helps obtain a more balanced temperature in each room by fighting changes caused by the sun and other factors.
- Upgrade to a programmable thermostat: You can conserve energy without reducing comfort by installing a programmable thermostat. It allows you to set temperature while you’re away or sleeping and continue a sufficient setting by the time you are home. It is recommended to set the thermostat back to between 82 and 85 degrees in the summer and 60 degrees in the winter.
- Dress Appropriately: Put on your winter clothes in the winter and shorts and a tank top in the summer.
- Use curtains if necessary: On hot summer days, shut the curtains to keep the sun out, and in the winter, open them wide to enjoy free heating.
