In Yuma’s hot climate, we spend much of the time trying to keep our homes cool, so when winter arrives, we’re often liable to turn the heat up a little too high. By choosing slightly cooler temperatures, you can not only save energy, but also get better rest.
Trim Your Energy Bills
While you’re home and awake, 68 degrees is a comfortable, energy-efficient temperature. For every degree you lower your thermostat temperature below 68 degrees for 8 hours, though, you could save 1 to 3 percent on your heating bills. Contrary to popular myth, your furnace doesn’t use more energy heating up a cool house than it does maintaining a stable temperature, so the overall result is energy savings.
When everyone is out during the day, it makes sense to lower the thermostat to 62 or even 60 degrees. Overnight, while you’re in bed asleep, is another opportunity to save energy. While you probably don’t want to lower the temperature as much as you do when no one is home, reducing the temperature to around 65 degrees will give you both savings and comfort.
If you don’t already have a programmable thermostat, investing in one now will help ensure your savings. These thermostats let you program in multiple temperature settings for the day, so you don’t have to remember to adjust the thermostat.
Enjoy Better Sleep
Your circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls your sleep cycle and many other physical functions, also influences your body temperature. When you sleep, your body temperature falls, reaching the lowest point in the early morning hours. For this reason, many people find they sleep more soundly in a cool room.
A cool bedroom has also been found to improve the quality of REM sleep, the restorative stage of sleep that allows for dreams. Somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees is the optimal sleeping temperature for most people, according to sleep researchers.
For more tips on how to save energy while improving your comfort, contact us at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company in the Yuma area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about saving money and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.
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