Temperatures in Bradenton, FL, rarely drop below freezing, contributing to the city’s reputation for pleasant winters. Even in warmer climates, a properly adjusted thermostat can significantly impact your home’s winter comfort, energy efficiency, and financial savings.
Ideal Temperature Range for Bradenton
Moderate winters in Bradenton mean you won’t need to crank up the heat much. While you’re at home during the day, keeping the temperature at 68°F will keep you comfortable without putting too much strain on your heating system. Lowering the thermostat to 65°F while you’re not home or sleeping at night will further minimize energy consumption. Nevertheless, you will still want to achieve a balance between comfort and efficiency, particularly if you have sensitive people living in your household who tend to stay cold. The majority of experts concur that lowering your thermostat by one degree can cut your heating costs by as much as one percent; however, local energy rates have a significant impact on these savings.
Recommended Humidity Levels
Humidity management is vital year-round, even in the cooler months. The ideal range for indoor humidity during winter is 40% to 50%. Mold and moisture can wreak havoc on your home’s structure and air quality, but this range can help you avoid such concerns. If your thermostat doesn’t have humidity control settings, you can use a separate humidifier or dehumidifier to manually regulate indoor moisture levels.
Optimal Fan Mode (Auto/On)
Setting the thermostat’s fan mode to “Auto” is the most efficient setting for the winter. This mode limits the fan’s operation to times when your HVAC system is actively heating the house, thus conserving energy and preventing the waste of cold air.
Optimized Fan Speed
In the winter, you can usually get away with keeping the fan speed on low or medium to effectively circulate warm air without overworking the HVAC system or creating air drafts. For even better performance, you can set your HVAC system to automatically vary fan speeds according to temperature needs (you can do this on HVAC systems and thermostats with variable fan speed modes).
Schedule Programming
The ability to tune your thermostat to a certain temperature at a certain time of day is a great tool for optimizing your heating and cooling system. You might want to think about setting your thermostat to a lower setting when you’re at work or sleeping. If you program your thermostat, you won’t have to manually adjust it as often, which means your HVAC system won’t have to work as hard to keep you comfortable.
Hold/Override Feature
You can temporarily disable your thermostat’s scheduled operation by using the hold or override feature. This comes in handy for those out-of-the-ordinary occasions, like when you have company around or when it suddenly warms up or turns cold outside. Hold is a great function to have if you usually lower the thermostat during the day so you can keep it at a fixed temperature for a few hours without having to reschedule anything.
Vacation/Away Mode
Use the vacation mode on your thermostat to save energy and keep your house safe from sudden temperature swings when you’re out of town for a few days in the winter. The function lowers the thermostat to a more energy-efficient range while you’re not there, usually between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the winter. Not only does this protect the temperature inside from dropping too low, which could damage delicate household goods, but it also stops your heating system from operating needlessly. The temperature will reset to your default settings the moment you get back, as long as you have it programmed correctly.
Temperature Offset
You can adjust your thermostat’s temperature offset function to reflect the real temperature in your home if you find that the readings don’t seem to match. This is something to keep in mind if you have a thermostat in a room that is consistently hotter or colder than the rest of your house. For example, if you install the thermostat in a location where it receives direct sunlight, it’ll consistently display a higher reading than the real interior temperature. The temperature offset mode makes up for this discrepancy. Doing so keeps your HVAC system in tune with your home’s environment, maximizing efficiency and comfort.
Syncing Thermostat With Smart Home Automation for More Savings and Convenience During the Winter
For maximum comfort and convenience in the winter, consider syncing your thermostat with a smart home automation system. Depending on your daily habits, automated schedules can change the temperature to make you comfortable while reducing energy waste. Connecting smart thermostats to other devices, like window sensors, allows them to regulate the temperature automatically when they detect a need for more heat. Your heating bills will go down, and your comfort level will go up, thanks to this linked system’s optimized efficiency.
If you need help with thermostat settings, contact One Hour today!