Let’s face it, in the current economy, you’re looking to save money wherever you can. A good place to start is with your home heating and air conditioning costs. Your old thermostats could be costing you a ton of money by heating or cooling an empty house. Not to mention, as they age, analog thermostats become less accurate, causing your heating or cooling system to cycle on and off more than necessary. Upgrading to a programmable thermostat typically costs less than $200 and can pay for itself in the first year. With a programmable thermostat, you can:

• Heat and cool your home around your work schedule. You don’t need to keep your home comfortable when you’re at work. A programmable thermostat will use less energy while you’re away, then bring your house back to your desired temperature in time for you to get home.
• Avoid heating or cooling overrun. An older thermostat will heat or cool your home beyond the desired settings, resulting in wasted energy. By predicting when the desired temperature will be reached, a programmable thermostat can avoid overrunning the temperature, saving energy and money.
• Use different settings for each day. Most programmable thermostats come with the optimum settings programmed in. You can change the settings if you prefer a warmer house in the morning or like to sleep when it’s cooler.
• Keep your pipes from freezing while you’re on vacation. Many people who vacation during colder months waste energy keeping their home heated while they’re away. You can set the programmable thermostat to keep your house just warm enough to protect your plumbing. Program the thermostat to start warming the house to a comfortable temperature on the day you expect to return, and you’ll come back to a warm house without wasting energy.

There are lots of benefits to programmable thermostats. From energy savings to increased convenience, upgrading your old thermostats is always a good investment. Once you experience the features and options available, you’ll love the comfort and control you’ll have with a programmable thermostat. Just follow the manufacturers instructions for installation. However if you have unsuccessfully tried to install the programmable thermostats yourself or are unwilling to try altogether, just call your local heating contractor to do the installation therefore assuring that they get installed correctly.