Are You Making These Heating Mistakes?

You’ve probably heard the phrase leave well enough alone at some point. It is one that can be applied to the way in which you heat your home. Homeowners want to live comfortably, but they also want to minimize energy use in order to maintain great efficiency levels. Well, there are some mistakes commonly made that not only compromise comfort but can also lead to reduced efficiency in the process. Are you making these mistakes when heating your home?

Frequently Adjusting the Thermostat

What does leaving well enough alone have to do with heating your home? One common mistake that homeowners make is constantly adjusting their thermostats. They get too chilly, so they turn the thermostat up. Then they’re a little too warm, so they turn the thermostat back down. It is a vicious cycle and one that you can avoid by — you guessed it — leaving the thermostat alone.

Set a reasonable temperature for your heater, and walk away from the thermostat until that target is met. 68° is a good place to start: warm enough for comfort, but easy for most heaters to maintain. If you are not totally satisfied with that temperature, you can make minor adjustments. When you pinpoint your comfortable setting, leave the thermostat at that temperature.

Turning the System On and Off

Now, what happens when you leave your home? Do you leave the temperature set at your ideal level? Probably not, because you don’t want to pay to keep the house perfectly comfortable when no one is home. So what is the best way to handle the situation? If your answer is to turn the system off when you leave the house or to turn it way down, you need to adjust your logic as much as you do your thermostat!

Instead, use a programmable thermostat that you can set around your weekly schedule. If you work regular hours,  you can set the thermostat to automatically make adjustments at those times. This allows you to maintain a more moderate temperature during the hours when the house is empty, while also coming home to a warm and comfortable environment. You don’t have to dial the thermostat way down or shut it off, only to come back to a freezing house.

If you have any questions or need to upgrade your thermostat, contact Ideal Services Heating & Cooling or call (919) 283-3474 .