Whether you’ve just had a new programmable thermostat installed in your Berks County home or if you are just considering one, you may have plenty of questions about it. How do I program it? Is it complicated to use? Where do I even begin? If this is your case, B&L Ott near Reading, Pennsylvania is here to help.
Below you will find information answering these questions and more. Then, before you know it, you will be on your way to convenient temperature control, energy savings, and comfortable home.
The Basics
If you are fairly adept with technology, you will likely find programmable thermostats easy to use. Even if you don’t know a lot about technology, a B&L Ott technician can help teach you how to use your new thermostat.
While most thermostats have similar buttons, they are all different. The best way to learn how to program your specific model is to read the manual. In general, however, you will press a button corresponding to the setting you want to change. Then you will use up and down arrows to change those settings. Below you will find some topics to think about before you start changing your settings.
Think About Your Family’s Daily Schedule
One of the main ways you can save with a programmable thermostat is to turn the temperature back when your family isn’t home during the day. One of the first things you will want to think about is what times your family is home, and when they are away.
When To Change the Temperature
Most programmable thermostats will break the day into different sections. For example, morning, day, and night. You can have your thermostat, turn up a bit in the morning so you are warm and comfortable when you get out of bed. Then you can have the thermostat turn the heat or air conditioner back around the time your family leaves for work and school. Then you can have it return to a more comfortable temperature right before your family usually returns home. Then you can set your home to cool down before bedtime so your family can get a good night’s sleep.
Turning the Heat or Air Conditioning Back
Be sure to give your HVAC system time to reach your desired temperature. A half hour is an appropriate amount of time. It is also worth noting that you don’t want to turn your heater or air conditioner back too far during the day. Doing so will waste energy as your HVAC system will have to work harder to replace the conditioned air that it lost. Turning your system back just a few degrees will suffice and provide significant savings.
Think About Your Family’s Weekly Schedule
Some programmable thermostats allow you to set each day individually. Others just have you program the work week and weekend separately. If you haven’t bought and installed a thermostat yet, this is something you will want to think about. Talk to B&L Ott to help make sure you get the best system to work with your family’s schedule.
Settings
Once you know what kind of schedule you want to make, it is time to look at the different settings on your thermostat.
Read the Manual
Due to the fact that every programmable thermostat is designed a little bit differently, the best way to learn about your system’s specific settings is to read the manual. Be sure to keep the manual in a safe place so you can refer to it if you ever have any issues. If you have had your system for a while and can’t find the manual, you can also call B&L Ott for help.
Schedule
When it comes to setting your schedule, scroll through each day and input the temperatures you desire and what times you want them to change. Once you are finished and your program is set, your system will continue to follow this routine on a regular basis. It is also important to note that if you experience a power outage or take the system off of the wall without batteries in it, your system will likely reset.
If at any point you don’t want your system to follow this routine, see if your thermostat has a hold button. This will tell your thermostat to keep the temperature where it is at.
Fan
There are two main settings for the fan. These are “auto” and “on.” When your system is on auto, it will start up and shut off when your HVAC system turns on and off. This allows you to save energy. However, if you set your system to “on” it will run constantly. This will use more energy, but help keep the air in your home cleaner as it will continually circulate and pass through your filter.
Cooling vs. Heat
The other main setting you should be concerned with is heating vs. cooling. This system is pretty self-explanatory. Are you warming your Berks County home or cooling it? Be sure to pay attention to which system is running and which schedule you are setting when you are programming your thermostat.
Need More Help?
If you need any more help concerning your programmable thermostat, please contact B&L Ott. You can do so through B&L Ott’s website here: https://otthvac.com/contact-us/. Alternatively, you can also call B&L Ott at 610-927-5133.