Sierra Club Green Home

5 Responses to “Sierra Club Programmable Thermostats”

1. J.P. Malone Says:
   December 8th, 2009 at 6:03 pm

   This might be a silly question, but I heard once that the whole “turn your air or heat down when you’re not home is a myth”. Although it is a waste of energy to heat or cool an empty home, when you do get home, your system will have to work even harder to get to the desired temp. Isn’t it more energy-efficient to just keep the house at a steady temperature?

2. Tandy M. Says:
   December 8th, 2009 at 6:05 pm

   I don’t think that’s a silly question, JP. I’ve heard that too. If you’re leaving for a few hours, I think it’s better to keep your temperature steady. I only turn it down if I’ll be gone on a trip. I’m no expert, but I find that turning your air up and down is more energy-consuming.

3. Clayton Says:
   December 8th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

   I think turning your air down every time you left would be like taking your ice cream out of the freezer, putting it in the microwave until it melts, then putting it back in the freezer…every time you want a scoop of ice cream. The freezer is now going to have to waste energy freezing the ice cream again. That’s not efficient at all!!!

4. Owen Moran Says:
   December 8th, 2009 at 6:08 pm

   I think that turning down your heat or air is good when you’re gone for a while, not just a couple hours.

5. Courtney Hayden Says:
   January 29th, 2011 at 7:07 pm

   programmable thermostats are great to turn down the heat a few degrees after you’re curled up in bed for the night or gone at work from 9 to 5. I imagine that the amount of heat it takes to bring it back up to temp in the morning or when you get home from work is significantly less than the wasted heat you would use during the night or while you’re at work.

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