Thermostats

Heating accounts for roughly two-thirds of your household energy consumption. Since your thermostat regulates the temperature in your home, it should be perfectly adapted to your heating system. The thermostat allows you to save a considerable amount of money while improving the comfort of your home. The quality of a thermostat lies in its precision. The secret is to start up the heating system before the ambient air gets too cold, and to stop it before it gets too warm. 

Some advice on thermostat use to help reduce your energy consumption.

• Replace old mechanical thermostats 
• Lower the temperature 
• Choose a programmable or electronic thermostat 
• Select a thermostat adapted to your lifestyle 
• What about smart thermostats?

Because they are less sensitive to changes in the ambient temperature, mechanical thermostats fluctuate, varying by 2 to 5°C from the desired temperature. The precision of electronic thermostats procures a constant temperature and greater comfort, and can save you up to 10% in heating costs.

In lowering the temperature by 3°C during the night, you can save up to 6% in heating costs. Don’t lower it by more than three degrees, because the time it takes for the heating system to re-establish a comfortable temperature will cancel part of the gains made.

We often tend to forget to raise or lower the temperature at the appropriate moment. Programmable thermostats can do the job for us. Simply enter your desired temperature settings and the thermostat takes care of the rest. There are also some very simple electronic thermostats that have only two buttons. Although they are not programmable, they offer the same precision as the more elaborate models.

If your weekday living habits change on the weekend, opt for a more sophisticated programmable thermostat. So-called 5-2 models offer a lower temperature schedule from Monday to Friday, and a second option for the weekend. Some thermostats offer 5-1-1 programming that allows you to set separate programs for Saturday and for Sunday. Others allow you to set a different program for each day of the week.