Deciding what temperature you should set your thermostat to isn’t always easy. When setting your thermostat for summer and winter, the goal should always be to ensure your house is comfortable without your energy bills being too high. Here, we’ll explain everything you need to know about how to optimize your thermostat settings for every season.
How Virginia’s Climate Impacts Thermostat Settings
Virginia experiences a wide range of temperatures throughout the year, with winter nights often being below freezing and summer days usually in the upper 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit. The hot, humid summer days and cold winter nights mean that you need to regularly adjust your thermostat setting to ensure your house is always comfortable. The fact that Virginia experiences high humidity throughout much of the summer also means that you may need to set your thermostat a bit lower. This is because high indoor humidity makes a house feel warmer regardless of the actual air temperature.
Why Proper Thermostat Settings Matter
The temperature you set your thermostat to plays a massive role in how much it costs to cool and heat your house. Setting the thermostat 1 degree higher in winter or lower in summer typically increases the amount of energy the HVAC system uses by around 1%-3%. While that may not sound like much, it can quickly add up if you set your thermostat much higher in winter or much lower in summer.
The thermostat setting can also directly impact how long your AC or heating system lasts and how often you need to have it repaired. Setting the thermostat higher in winter or lower in summer obviously leads to your HVAC system running more and having to do more work. The more hours in the day the system runs, the more wear and tear all of the components experience. This increases the chances of the system suddenly breaking down. It can also potentially take years of life off of your AC, heat pump or furnace.
Recommended Thermostat Settings for Virginia Homes
Everyone has their own personal preferences in terms of what temperature they’re most comfortable at. Nonetheless, in the following sections, we’ll look at the best thermostat settings for summer and winter in VA that allow you to strike the right balance between comfort and HVAC efficiency.
Recommended Summer Thermostat Settings
The US Department of Energy recommends keeping your thermostat set to 78 degrees during the times when you’re home and awake. However, many people find this to be too hot, especially in Virginia’s humid climate. Running the ceiling fan in the room you’re in should help you feel a bit cooler. If you still always feel too warm, you can set your thermostat a few degrees lower. However, you generally don’t want to set it any lower than 72 degrees, or else your energy bills will be much higher.
Before leaving for work in the morning, you should set your thermostat around 3 to 5 degrees higher than the normal setting. There’s no point in cooling your house to the same temperature when no one is home, as all this does is lead to unnecessary energy usage. At the same time, you don’t want to turn your thermostat up too much. If you do, it can actually lead to your energy bills being higher. This is due to how long it will take your AC to cool the house back down when you get home. You generally don’t need to worry about turning up your thermostat before going to bed. This is because the nights are usually cool enough that your AC won’t need to come on.
Winter Thermostat Settings in Virginia
During the winter, it’s recommended to keep your thermostat set to 68 degrees when you’re home and awake. If you feel a bit chilly, you can always put on a sweater or cover yourself with a blanket. You can also set your thermostat a bit higher, but you really shouldn’t go above 72 degrees. Before leaving for work, you should turn the thermostat down to somewhere between 60 and 65 degrees to conserve energy. In winter, you also want to make sure to turn down the thermostat before going to bed. On overly cold nights, you may only want to turn the temperature down by a couple of degrees so that your heating system can warm the house back up more quickly in the morning.
Recommended Temperature for Spring and Fall
Finding the right spring and fall thermostat settings in Virginia is a bit trickier. That is due to how much the temperature can fluctuate from day to day and even hour to hour. During the early part of each season, you should usually just use the normal winter and summer settings. As it starts to warm in later spring or cool in later fall, you can start slowly adjusting the settings. This will help make the transition from heating to cooling or vice versa.
Smart Thermostat Tips for VA Homes
By following all of these energy-saving thermostat tips, you can keep your energy bills low without your house ever being too hot or too cold. Always adjust the temperature before leaving and when going to bed. Upgrade your old manual thermostat to a programmable or a smart thermostat. Program the thermostat so that it changes back to the normal setting about an hour before you normally get home from work and before you typically wake up.
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Should I Turn My Thermostat Off When I Leave Home?
It’s always a good idea to adjust the thermostat setting before leaving home. However, you should never fully turn off your AC or heating, except on milder days in spring and fall. If you turn your HVAC system off during the middle of summer or winter, your house will quickly become much too hot or too cold. When you switch the system back on, it will need to run for hours to restore the temperature to the set point. Turning the thermostat off during the winter also creates the risk of parts of your house becoming cold enough that your plumbing freezes.
How to Optimize Your Thermostat for Efficiency
One of the most effective ways to optimize HVAC efficiency in Virginia is with a smart thermostat. This type of thermostat allows you to control your HVAC system and monitor the temperature of your house from a mobile app. Smart thermostat settings also adjust automatically based on factors like day and time, whether the house is currently occupied, and the temperature outside.
Stay Comfortable Year-Round HVAC Service From Fire & Ice HVAC in Fredericksburg, VA
At Fire & Ice HVAC, we have decades of experience helping Virginia homeowners with their indoor comfort needs. We offer the full range of air conditioning, heating and thermostat services. Our team has the knowledge and skills to help you save on your energy bills.
For reliable services and honest advice in Fredericksburg or the surrounding areas, contact Fire & Ice HVAC.
