Let’s talk about one common misconception about thermostats. It happens all the time, you come home to a cold house and turn the knob on your thermostat all the way up. People generally think that is going to warm up your house quicker.
Actually, that’s not true.
Your heater runs at a specific wattage. Let’s say you have a 1000W heater. Whether the thermostat is set to high or low, the heater always runs at 1000W.
When you set the thermostat to a higher Temperature, this simply means the thermostat will run longer until it reaches that higher set point.
Ideally, to save energy you would want to set the thermostat to the lowest temperature that makes your room feel comfortable. Then the thermostat will regulate the room temperature to stay at that comfort level.
Now Consider this. The US Department of Energy estimates that you can generally save 3% on your heating bill for each degree that you turn your thermostat down during the winter.
Now that’s Smart!
