Where should I set my thermostat?

To answer this question fairly, we would need to know what you are trying to accomplish. Is energy conservation more important than personal comfort? Are you absent from the home for extended periods? Do you have concerns of pipes freezing?

Among questions addressed in this article are:

• What a thermostat does
• How does a thermostat setting affect heating bill
• Will a programmable thermostat really save money
• Does it take more energy for furnace to get back to a "normal" temperature after being turned down for a long time
• Are there times you shouldn't set back your thermostat
• If you turn thermostat way up (for heat) or way down (for cooling), will you heat (or cool) your home faster?

A rule of thumb: for every degree you turn down your thermostat in the winter, you save 1% on your energy bill. Conversely, they say for every degree you turn your thermostat up during the summer, you save 1%.

"You can save as much as 10% a year on your heating and cooling bills simply turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours."
          -- Federal Citizen Information Center

Did you know? Your thermostat does not control the temperature of the air that your furnace or air conditioner produces? Those temperatures are a constant determined by the British Thermal Units (BTU) rating of your furnace or the temperature drop across your coil for cooling. Your thermostat actually only regulates when your system will turn on and off based on room temperature of where your thermostat is located and what you have chosen as your set point to turn on and off.