joeloda@aicchi.UUCP (Joseph D. Loda) (01/02/86)
I currently own a Honeywell double setback thermostat, which I installed myself. It has three setback options: 5, 10, and 15 degrees. I usually keep it on 10 for winter, 5 for summer. Are these the optimum settings for the various seasons? In real cold weather, the 10 degree setback seems ridiculous, since it takes the furnace about 3 hours to get the house to 68. Any information would be appreciated. For what it's worth, I live in a northwest suburb of Chicago. Thanks in advance! -- Joe Loda Analysts International (Chicago Branch) (312) 882-4673 ..!ihnp4!aicchi!joeloda
perelgut@utai.UUCP (Stephen Perelgut) (01/02/86)
My wife and I both work and are therefor never home during the day on weekdays (and some weekends:-). This winter we bought the First Alert thermostat control. It is very different from a setback thermostat but it has the same function. Consumer's Reports mentionned it in its review of the electronic setback thermostats as more reliable and cheaper. I can see their point. For $50CDN (probably cheaper if you find it on sale), you get a device that you attach to your old or new style thermostat. It is basically a mechanical device to physically change the thermostat setting. The solution for round-style thermostats is quite interesting. The clock-like device is run off a single "AA" battery (I think). You get 4 weekday programs and 4 weekend ones. Ours are: 0700 - set thermostat to 71 0800 - 71 0900 - 58 0300 - 58 1800 - 71 0100 - 58 (We have a great, Hollofil-II duvet to keep warm at night). It's hard to judge savings exactly (we're on equal billing forced air gas), but this season is much colder than last, our monthly payments dropped last year, and we're still way ahead of where the gas company predicted. -- Stephen Perelgut Computer Systems Research Institute, University of Toronto