Thermostat Settings for Fall

The seasonal transition from fall to winter doesn’t always go smoothly, calling for thermostat best practices that differ from how you’ll use the thermostat once winter finally descends. It’s not uncommon to use both the cooling and heating systems during the same day.

It’s the time of year when it’s helpful to teach all your family members old enough how to use the thermostat for both heating and cooling functions to maintain reasonable indoor comfort. Since fall weather is up and down, your family members may need to dress more appropriately for the weather instead of using the thermostat, especially if you’re mindful of spending your energy dollars.

How to Manage Indoor Temperatures

Unless it’s exceptionally cold, teach the family to dress more warmly. Have their winter wardrobes ready and encourage them to change into something warmer. It’s normal for them to feel chilled as the temperature drops in the fall.

After months of warm weather inside and out, everyone has acclimatized to higher temperatures. If additional clothing doesn’t increase their comfort, turn on the furnace by switching the thermostat from “cool” or “off” to “heat.” Keep the temperature between 68 to 70 degrees F for the most efficient heating.

When the weather warms and your house does too, select the cool setting and keep temperatures between 76 and 78 during the daytime. Keeping the leaves away from the outdoor condenser will improve cooling efficiency during the fall. Turn the system off at night and let your home cool down naturally.

Programmable Thermostat Management

The ups and downs of fall weather make it challenging for maintaining thermostat best practices that include keeping the settings consistent from day-to-day. Programmable thermostats help you save the most energy when you maintain their settings for the season, but when you need to change it up or down, you can make adjustments. Use the temporary override settings or consult the owner’s manual for suggestions.

If you’d like more information about thermostat best practices for the upcoming heating season, contact Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning, providing HVAC services for Lorain-area homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 440-201-2959.