Is SMECO right, or are they wrong?

[imaref]

I got the SMECO cooperative review today in my email. I was reading through the tips for winter and got to this part:

"Keep thermostat heat settings at one temperature. The recommended setting for winter is 68°F. "

WHAT? Then why all the bother with programmable thermostats? I keep mine at 67 in the daytime and 65 overnight, and turn on the propane fireplace for a few minutes in the evenings when it feels chilly.

So, what do you guys think--use the programmable thermostat, or just set it and forget it? Is SMECO right or are they full of it?

 

[Clem72]

DEPENDS.

If you have a heatpump, with electric backup, keep it at one setting. If you have separate AC and Heat (Oil/Gas) or heatpump with gas you may save a bit by varying the temperature.

If you are only changing the temp by a degree or two, and you have an intelligent heat pump and you set using a schedule (not by hand) you may also be alright.

The big issue is using the electric heating elements to quickly bring you up to temp instead of using the normal (slow) heatpump process.

 

[RareBreed]

We keep ours at 72* year round. Seems to work for us .

 

[Kyle]

62 all the time.

 

[BernieP]

62 all the time.

I would be dead or divorced

In answer to the OP, it takes less energy to maintain a temperature that to raise it.
The devil is in the details. If you let your house cool down to 68 during the day, when you set the thermostat back up you aren't just heating the air, you are also heating all the mass in the house (walls, furnishings,etc.
Now if you were going to be gone for an extended period of time, sure, dropping it down would save you money. But every day doing the cycle for under 10 hours, it's not worth it.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

There is not an easy answer to this, it depends on a lot of factors.

Things that can have a major influence on this is: type of heat, sun exposure of house, outside temp, inside temp, insulation level in house, amount the house is sealed, thermal mass of house....

I will say with a heat pump it does not make sense to let the temperature drop during the middle of the day because heat pumps are most efficient when its the warmest outside so that time will be your cheapest heat.

 

[Goldenhawk]

If you're doing your own setback by hand each night with a dumb thermostat, yes, you're wasting money. Of course the system will be very inefficient as it uses auxiliary heat to re-heat the house and its contents.

However, my programmable thermostats, like nearlyall programmable thermostats made in the last 20 years, do a "smart recovery" that avoids using the aux heat even if the temperature must be raised more than 1 or 2 deg, which is the normal aux heat tripping point. Honeywell and Nest and Ecobee and other manufacturers of programmable thermostats are well aware of the issue, and account for it, and the energy savings are very real and very provable.

 

[lovinmaryland]

Summer its set at 68...In the winter we keep it at 64... Don't let dad catch you touching that dial either!!!

 

[RareBreed]

Summer its set at 68...In the winter we keep it at 64... Don't let dad catch you touching that dial either!!!

That would be my husband to a T.

 

[Ken King]

71 for summer AC setting (no change at night), 70 for winter heat setting (lower heat at night to 68).

 

[officeguy]

DEPENDS.

If you have a heatpump, with electric backup, keep it at one setting. If you have separate AC and Heat (Oil/Gas) or heatpump with gas you may save a bit by varying the temperature.

If you are only changing the temp by a degree or two, and you have an intelligent heat pump and you set using a schedule (not by hand) you may also be alright.

The big issue is using the electric heating elements to quickly bring you up to temp instead of using the normal (slow) heatpump process.

My heat pumps only kick into aux heat if you change the temp by more than 2 degrees. If you move it slowly one by one it remains on heat pump.

 

[BernieP]

My heat pumps only kick into aux heat if you change the temp by more than 2 degrees. If you move it slowly one by one it remains on heat pump.

you are still running your heat pump (which is the electric part) more raising the temperature one degree than if you simply maintain

 

[gemma_rae]

Summer its set at 68...In the winter we keep it at 64... Don't let dad catch you touching that dial either!!!

When my Dad comes over I throw the door open and yell "LOOK DAD, I'M HEATING THE WHOLE G@D D@MNED NEIGHBORHOOD!"

 

[gemma_rae]

When my Dad comes over I throw the door open and yell "LOOK DAD, I'M HEATING THE WHOLE G@D D@MNED NEIGHBORHOOD!"

Then he screams "I'LL WHIP YOU LIKE A RENTED MULE!"