Updated: May 2023
Your home thermostat can be the key to electricity savings throughout the warm summer months. However, to optimize your savings, you need to properly understand how to operate your thermostat. Just a couple of wrong settings can make your house feel uncomfortable and even take a nice chunk of change out of your wallet.
Temperature
The most crucial setting on your entire system is the temperature. The temperature that you input into your thermostat is going to be the deciding factor for when your air conditioning unit kicks on and off. If you want your home to be comfortable, you may set your thermostat at 78 degrees. Anytime the indoor temperature goes above your set temperature of 78 degrees, your air conditioning system will kick on and cool your home down.
The Auto Setting vs. the On Setting
Two of the most confusing settings for most homeowners are the auto and the on settings. When you have your fan set on the on mode, your fan will continually run. If you also have your thermostat set on the cooling or the heating function, the system will produce cold or warm air while the fan is running. One important factor in understanding the on setting is that your system will continue to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of what your thermostat temperature is set at.
The auto setting, on the other hand, allows your thermostat to turn your air conditioning system on or off based on what the temperature is. With the auto setting, you simply select the desired temperature for your home. Your air conditioning system will run until it reaches that temperature and then shut off until it senses that the temperature is higher than what your desired temperature is.
In most situations, you want to have your thermostat set on the auto setting. This helps to ensure that your home is at the temperature that you want it to be without spending a bunch of money on energy bills for a constantly running system. The on setting is best for specific times where you need to circulate air throughout your home. It’s never a good idea to leave your thermostat on the on setting as it will burn up a lot of energy, which translates to high power bills.
Heat vs. Cool
Two settings that most people are familiar with on their thermostat are the heat and cool settings. In the wintertime, you’ll want to have your thermostat set to the heat function so that it creates warm air. In the summertime, you want to have your thermostat set on the cool setting so that it makes cold air.
It’s important to note that you do not have to have your thermostat on the heat or the cool setting for your system to run. When you have it set on the on position, you can just circulate air throughout your home to freshen up spaces where stale air is at.
Home vs. Away
While the above settings are some of the most common that you’ll run across, the induction of new smart thermostats has come with a host of all-new settings. All these extra settings can allow you to maximize the efficiency of your home air conditioning system. Two particular settings with smart thermostats that most people are unsure of are the home and the away settings.
Both of these settings are top-level settings that control your entire air conditioning system. You’ll have specific settings on your air conditioner that work to optimize your energy savings when you’re at home. Every time you’re at home, your thermostat will change to the specific settings that you programmed in for when you’re at home.
When you’re away from home, your thermostat will change all of its settings to what you programmed for it to do when you’re away from home. Many smart thermostats will actually use your cell phone’s location to switch between home and away settings depending on where you’re at. The whole point of the home and away settings is to make it super simple to automatically switch all the settings on your thermostat to what you desire at times when you’re home and at times when you’re away from home.
Dependable AC Services
BEST Air Conditioning Plumbing Repair offers dependable air conditioner services for the entire Las Vegas region. We also offer heating, plumbing, indoor air quality, and ducting services. Give us a call today, and we’ll get help on the way to you.
