Do Programmable Thermostats Save You Money?

Buying and installing a programmable thermostat isn't going to save you any money on your heating bill. The reason why folks often say programmable thermostats save energy and cash is because you can set them to automatically lower the temperature when you aren’t home or are asleep. That can lead to a 5 to 15 percent reduction in energy use according to the Department of Energy. 

Check out our blog post on controlling thermostats for more information.

If you're looking to put cash back in your pocket on a monthly basis, you're going to actually need to take the time to figure out a realistic schedule and program your thermostat. Believe it or not, that doesn't happen most of the time. 

Electronic Theromostat vs. Programable Thermostat

Various studies have shown that a lot of programmable thermostats are poorly designed and hard to understand. That means people give up on trying to learn how to program them. One study from the Berkeley National Laboratory, says up to 50 percent of programmable thermostats in homes are set on permanent hold status, which basically means they’re just manual thermostats. 

If you're in the market for a new thermostat, we always recommend you take a serious look at an electronic thermostat. They do a better job reading the temperature of the room and keeping it at a consistent temperature.

Whether you buy a basic electronic thermostat or a programmable one is up to you. If you're a person that leaves their heat on frequently, then a programmable thermostat could be a great option for you. Just make sure to program it. 

For more information on where to place your thermostat, check out our blog post.

Shop our thermostats online or find a dealer near you. 

Video Transcription

0:00 Hi I'm Steve with Cadet tech support and

0:01 We're here today to talk about

0:03 Thermostats. A lot of people say that

0:09 Programmable thermostats save me a lot

0:11 Of money. That's not necessarily true. If

0:14 You choose to buy the electronic

0:15 Thermostat, with program, use it. Program it and

0:19 Take the time to do this. If you don'tT

0:21 You might as well just have the standard

0:23 Model that you can manually set up and

0:25 Down. The key point with the electronic

0:27 Programmable thermostat is you got to

0:29 Set the program. If you don't do this, you

0:33 Won't save money. This is an important

0:35 Benefit take advantage of it