Smart thermostats make it easy for home owners to regulate the temperature in their home with the touch of a button. Unlike analog thermostats that require you to keep adjusting thermostat temperature range with changes in environmental temperatures, smart thermostats allow you to schedule a temperature range for a season.
Even better, there are learning thermostats that adapt to your heating and cooling preferences and automatically adjust temperature ranges to keep you comfortable at all times. However, what should be the standard smart thermostat temperature range?
During winter, it is tempting for you to turn the thermostat up. When summer sets in, it is again tempting for you to turn the thermostat down to cool your body off.
However, going to the extremes when heating or cooling your house can have an adverse effect on your well-being.
What determines the ideal temperature range?
Your personal preference will determine the temperature range you set on your thermostat. The settings will vary greatly depending on the season, the family members in your home (presence of absence of babies), your lifestyle and whether or not you are home.
Even though personal preferences matter, there is a standard smart thermostat temperature range that most people find comfortable.
Temperature ranges in winter
When it starts to snow, you will need to be comfortable. In such months, set the thermostat between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit when you are home. At this temperature range, most people will feel comfortable.
When you are not at home, for several hours, and when you are sleeping at night, the ideal temperature range is between 58 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range ensures that water in your pipes does not freeze when temperatures outside drop and no one is home.
However, if there is a young baby, a senior or someone with health issues, it is not advisable to lower night time temperatures below 64.4 F. According to World Health Organization, temperatures below 64.4 F will increase health risks for vulnerable people.
Babies and seniors are more vulnerable to temperature extremes. Newborns take more time before developing heat regulation while older people are less able to perceive cold temperatures.
Consider Humidity
When it is cold, humidity is relatively low. This way, the air around us is dry and we end up losing water to the surrounding.
When the body loses water, it loses the latent heat of vaporization thereby cooling the body more. Generally, you will feel colder when the air is dry than when the air is moist.
During low humidity seasons, say 20 percent relative humidity, the thermostat temperature should be set at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. According to ASHRAE, a group involved with heating and air conditioning, the ideal humidity in a room should be between 45 and 55 percent.
Breathing dry air can cause respiratory problems such as sinusitis, bronchitis, nosebleeds and can also exacerbate asthma.
Even when the temperature inside has been maintained at 75 degrees F, you will still need to ventilate your room to ensure that viruses that cause cold and flu in winter do not inhabit your room. You can introduce ceiling fans to help circulate the air in your house.
Smart Thermostat Temperature Range in summer
For your HVAC system to function optimally, the temperature outside should be close to the temperature inside. For summer, therefore, the thermostat should be set to run between 73 degrees F to 78 degrees F.
Most people are more comfortable when the temperature inside the house is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. When you are away from home, you can raise the temperature a few degrees at night to help you stay comfortable and save money on power bills.
Sometimes during hot summer days, you may find yourself wearing a sweater at night. In such a case, you need to turn up the thermostat temperature range a notch higher.
When you turn the thermostat to the extremes, it might be counterproductive as your HVAC system will have to work harder to maintain the indoor temperature.
Summer months and humidity
During the warm weather, there is excess humidity as more water evaporates from surfaces. If your HVAC system cannot lower the humidity from the air around you, you will feel cool but the air around you will be uncomfortably damp.
You can stay comfortable by setting your thermostat as close to the temperature outside as possible (the temperature can be just a little lower). Besides that, you will need to keep
To keep the room comfortable, you will need to include ceiling fans or open windows and doors to ensure there is enough air circulation inside the house. Besides using air conditioners, you can explore other cooling systems that do not involve refrigerated air.
Some of these other air conditioning systems help with humidity too.
Programming Your Thermostats
Smart thermostats are so named because besides the fact that you can program them, they have other features such as Wi-Fi connectivity, sensors and geo-fencing among others. This way, the units are able to do more than maintain your temperature within a range.
With a programmable smart thermostat, you are able to set a temperature range for a given season.
With these thermostats, it becomes easy for you to set a given temperature range to run before you wake up, before going to sleep, or before you leave the house.
Smart Thermostat Installation and Temperature Ranges
The location of your smart thermostat can affect its efficiency. A thermostat that has been set to regulate temperatures based on the temperature of the surrounding should be installed at a place where it does not get ghost readings.
Ghost readings can make the smart thermostat adjust temperatures higher or lower that preferred. For instance, installing a thermostat too close to the roof or too close to the floor will make it show a higher reading than the prevailing temperature in the house. In such a case, it may adjust to a higher smart thermostat temperature range.
For the thermostat to operate efficiently, you should install it on the interior wall away from draught, direct sunlight, doorways, skylights, and windows. Basically, it should be installed at an area where natural air currents in the room rise or sink.
This should be away from furniture as it tends to block air movements. Again, ensure that the location of the thermostat makes it easy to program.
Temperature Ranges for Energy Saving
To save energy when using your smart thermostat, you need to be familiar with the various configurations on your thermostat. Usually, most of the configurations are explained on your thermostat manual. There are two automatic settings on your smart thermostat.
One of the automatic settings involves the whole house fan which should be left on automatic. Some thermostats such as the [amazon link=”B00FLZEQH2″ title=” Honeywell RTH9580WF” /] are able to run the fan independent of the HVAC system.
When you leave this unit on automatic, your HVAC system will turn it off when enough air has been circulated.
The second automatic setting comes in when you need your thermostat to execute your planned temperature settings. Before setting the thermostat, ensure that your plan is smart.
To achieve the best out of your thermostat, program it to run for eight-hour intervals. Usually, manufacturers offer recommended adjustment patterns.
You can start with the highest recommended settings in summer and lowest settings in winter and adjust accordingly.
