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Ideal programmable thermostat settings for the mid-atlantic to optimize efficiency?

post #1 of 2
6/2/08 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 

We got 2 new programmable thermostats for our 2-zone home. We live in the mid-atlantic area with relative high humidity and heat, where we stay in the 80's to 90'd most of the summer.

 

Anyone have any recommendations on good settings for the various daily settings of this thermostat? I just want to make sure we are maximizing the efficiency. I know this quesiton is fairly relative to what our comfort levels are when we are home, but i'm more concerned with how low (or hogh) we can go when we are not home to get back to that sweet spot. I'd say our sweet spot is about 74 degrees.

 

Thoughts?

 

Here's what we got by the way:

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/honeywell-rth7500d1007-thermostat


Edited by pgallett - Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:31:00 GMT


Edited by pgallett - Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:31:24 GMT
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post #2 of 2
6/4/08 at 9:58am

From an efficiency standpoint it's most efficient to keep your home as warm as possible in the summer.  The only factor limiting how high you should set your thgermostat and for how long is what makes you so uncomfortable that you give up on the setback strategy. 

 

Ideally, you would turn off the system when you are not home and then turn it on when you get home.  Time how long it takes to cool down to an acceptable temperature on a hot day and then program that much lead time into the thermostat so that you are comfortable in the future.

 

The air conditioner itself will actually operate more efficiently when the house is hot than when it is cool, but it's not a huge effect.  The key thing is to keep the system off as much as possible.

 

 

 

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