Remember when we talked about all those great gadgets you could use to automate some frugality strategies around the house? Hopefully you’ve had a chance to test some out and have gotten some love in your latest electricity bill in the form of a lower-than-expected amount due.
And I really hope you used those savings to pay down some of your credit card debt or to pad your emergency savings account. You should be seeing similar savings each month, so keep the money flowing towards those goals!
If you haven’t yet given any of those gadgets a try, I’m about to eliminate any excuses about getting started. Tool belt time! You’re about to get tutored.
Installing a Programmable Thermostat — How Much Can You Save?
A lot of this depends on how much you currently pay to heat your home and how warm you like it. I’m not here to try to convince you to bundle up and live like a penguin this winter to save money — though if you are up for the challenge, I’d love to hear all about it!
The beauty of a programmable thermostat is that you get to be comfortable when you’re home — and turn down the heat to save money when you’re not. You won’t even feel the difference, because you’ll be at work. So no excuses!
The general rule of thumb is that you’ll save about 3% on your heating bills for each degree you lower your thermostat during the day. That’s the savings if you lower your thermostat by a whole degree for the whole day, though. If we do some rough math and assume that you’re out of the house for about eight hours every day, we see that you’re only making that change for 1/3 of a 24-hour day. And since 1/3 of 3 percent is 1 percent, that’s your estimated savings while you’re at work.
Before you walk away thinking that this isn’t worth the trouble, remember that you’ll be saving 1 percent on your heating bill per degree that you lower it while you’re at work. So if you’re keeping your house at a toasty 72 degrees while you’re home but at a chilly 57 degrees while you’re away, you’ve lowered your heat by 15 degrees.
And I bet that a 15% savings on your heating bill sounds pretty good!
You can do even better if you also lower the temperatures while you sleep at night. You spend about another 1/3 of your day in bed, you can lop another 1% off your bill for every degree you drop your sleepy-time temperature. Add a blanket, cut the heat to 62 while you sleep, and you’ve saved another 10 percent.
And if you’re not excited about a total savings of 25% on your winter heating bill, I’m frankly a little worried about you. Do you have a pulse?
How to Install a Programmable Thermostat to Save Piles of Money This Winter
If you already have a programmable thermostat and have just never bothered to figure out how to set it, what are you waiting for? It takes maybe 10 minutes to walk through all the steps, depending on how user-friendly your model is. If you’re not sure how it works, do a Google search for the product manual by brand, or check out a database of owners’ manuals and instruction booklets to find something similar.
If you don’t have a programmable thermostat yet, go get one. It doesn’t have to be fancy or even come with an app — the $20 version will work just as well. Check out the list below for other supplies you might need to install it and grab those, too. Once you get back from the hardware store, follow these easy steps to hook it up:
1. Gather Your Materials
To remove your old thermostat and install a new one, you’ll need these items:
- Screwdriver
- Circuit tester
- Tape (masking or electrical)
- Pencil
- Pliers
- Spackle
- Level
- Drill
- Drywall anchors and screws
- Tack hammer
- Your new thermostat
- Batteries
2. Turn Stuff Off
You’ll be dealing with your home’s electrical system here, so first turn off your heat using the old thermostat. Next, turn off the electrical supply to your heating system (and central air, if applicable) at your circuit break box.
3. Take Apart the Old Thermostat
Pull off the cover by unscrewing it from the wall plate so you can see all the wires and stuff inside. Use a circuit tester to double-check that there’s no electricity flowing to the wires. If there is, you’ll have to play around with your breaker box to cut the power.
Check out how the wires are connected to the old thermostat. You’d think that the wires would be color-coded, but they might not match the wires in your new thermostat, so label each wire with a letter instead. Check the terminals in the thermostat and use a piece of masking tape to label each wire with the right letter. Snap a photo of the set-up with your smartphone for future reference.
4. Disconnect the Thermostat
Now you’re ready to loosen the terminal screws and unhook the wires. As you do this, wrap the ends of the wire around a pencil or tape them to the wall so they don’t fall back into the wall and disappear.
Unscrew the wall plate and remove it, being careful to hold onto those wires and secure them again, either with tape or the pencil. If you’re nervous, get someone to help hold them while you remove the wall plate.
5. Patch the Holes
If you’re lucky, the wall plate for your new thermostat will be big enough to cover the holes made by the old one. If not, you’ll need to use some pliers to pull out old wall anchors and then spackle over the holes. If the holes are big, this could take two applications. You can touch up the paint when you’re finished.
6. Hang the New Wall Plate
Place your new wall plate where you want it and use a level to make sure it’s perfectly straight. Use the pencil to mark the mounting holes on your wall. Drill pilot holes where you marked them and tap in the new drywall anchors lightly with a tack hammer until they’re flush with the wall.
Now you’re ready to install the wall plate. Feed the wires through the back and re-tape them to the wall to keep them secure. Screw the plate in place with your screwdriver.
7. Attach the Wires
Each thermostat is slightly different, but all come with a manual for installation. Check the instructions and diagrams for information on how to match your labeled wires up to the correct terminals in the new thermostat.
Once you’ve screwed the wires in place, install any backup batteries and put the cover plate on.
8. Test It Out!
Once your thermostat is on the wall and ready to go, restore power to your heating unit and thermostat. Play with the temperature adjustment to make sure it trips your furnace on properly. Once you’re sure it works, read on in the owner’s manual for instructions about how to program it.
That’s it! Once you get the programming business sorted out, you should be able to enjoy some impressive savings on your next heating bill. Your new thermostat will probably pay for itself in just one month. After that, you’ll be pocketing some serious cash for the foreseeable future!
Don’t forget that similar savings are ripe for the picking in the summer if your thermostat controls your central air unit too! Instead of turning the temperature down during the work day, you’ll simply turn it off to keep the savings rolling in. t’s fast, it’s easy, and it will save you a ton of money!
Tell us below what brand of programmable thermostat you’ve found the most success with!
