CLEVELAND — It’s that time of year when the heat is on, and we’re looking at temperatures over 90 degrees outside!
With that in mind, today we’re VERIFYING how to save energy and money when it comes to cooling your home.
THE QUESTION
In the reddit homeowners community which has 1.5 million members, a user asked, "Is it really better to keep your thermostat on one temperature rather than programming it to change based on the time of day?"
SOURCE
To VERIFY whether that’s true, we checked with the US Department of Energy.
EXPLANATION
On Energy.gov they have a tab right at the top of their website that says "Save Energy, Save Money."
When you click on it, it takes you to the "Energy Savings Hub."
If you navigate to Energy Saving Tips and expand the part that says “Get smart with your thermostat," we find our answer.
The US Department of Energy says, "It’s estimated that you can save as much as 10% on heating by adjusting your temperature on your thermostat back 7°-10° F from its normal setting for 8 hours/day."
They go on to say that "a programmable thermostat allows you to automatically adjust temperatures by day and time of day, so your settings are where you want them while you’re home and saving you money when you’re not."
THE ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that it’s actually not better to keep your thermostat on one temperature rather than programming it to change based on the time of day.
You can also adjust your thermostat manually, for example before you leave for work for the day, if you don’t have programmable thermostat.
If you come across something that you're unsure about being true or false, you can send it to us to VERIFY by emailing us at verify@wkyc.com, or texting us at (216) 344-3300.