There are many people, no doubt, who don’t see the need for getting a digital programmable thermostat for the home or office. They might consider it a waste of money when they already have a thermostat. This is an erroneous point of view. Programmable thermostats help cut heating and cooling bills, and help to reduce carbon emissions.

It is virtually impossible with an old slide thermostat to match the comings and goings of residents in a home with the heating and cooling without a programmable thermostat. They come in 4 types: 1 week thermostats (1 program); 5+2 (1 program for weekdays and 1 program for the weekend); 5-1-1 (1 program for weekdays and separate programs for Saturday and Sunday); and 7 day (a program for each day of the week). Each program is divided into 4 periods: morning, afternoon, evening and night. The choice of thermostat depends on budget and how complicated a person’s schedule is.

The basic rule is that for every 8 hour period the heating/cooling is reduced by 1 degree, the bill is reduced by 1%. Over a year it is possible to save over $700 using a programmable thermostat correctly. That is a big benefit.

The environmental benefit of programmable thermostats is a reduction in electricity use. Electricity from power plants is usually generated by burning fossil fuels that create carbon emissions that are causing global warming.

Programmable thermostats also improve the comfort of a home. Most Honeywell, Lux Products and Hunter thermostats have adaptive intelligent recovery that tracks heating and cooling times and uses this information to make sure the home is the right temperature when people wake up or come back from work.

Good thermostats also have auto change-over. This is a function ideal for times when the seasons are changing and both heating and cooling might be required in the same day. Thermostats with auto change-over automatically switch between heating and cooling as required.

Thermostats like the Lux Products TX9100E also include a keyboard lockout. This is a useful function that stops anyone from altering the settings who doesn’t possess the pass code. This function gives you better security over your heating and cooling, and is particularly useful for land lords and hotel owners.

Another useful function is vacation mode. This allows the user to set up a minimal heating/cooling program while they are away to save money. Some thermostat vacation modes also include a countdown function so that the regular programs start at the time when the occupants return home from holiday.

From this brief survey of what programmable thermostats can do it is more than clear that they have several benefits. They save money, reduce carbon emissions, protect heating/cooling settings and make a home or office more comfortable.