According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), heating and cooling costs account for about half of the average American household’s energy expenses. There are dozens of energy-saving strategies that you can employ to reduce your monthly energy bills, from turning out lights when you leave a room to adding insulation to your attic. One of the easiest, most effective and affordable ways to cut energy costs is to install a non wifi programmable thermostat.
Lower Your Energy Bills Up To 10 %
You can save about $180 each year from these savvy devices, according to the EPA, or around 10 percent of your energy bills (many thermostat manufacturers claim higher savings than that – some up to 33%). Most units cost less than your family might spend on a dinner and a movie.
The digital thermostats display the current time and temperature. You flip through screen displays to program them. While you have the option to manually alter the current temperature at any time, savings come from careful programming.
Scheduled to Turn On & Off Automatically
You can customize the settings to fit your household’s schedule, automatically turning heating and cooling systems off when family members are away from home and back on again in time to ensure that the temperature is comfortable when everyone’s at home.
Most models let you set different schedules for weekdays and weekends, with several temperature changes each day. You can program them to lower the temperature at your usual bedtime and raise the temperature so that you wake up to a comfortably warm home.
Best non wifi programmable thermostats
From the list compiled below, you can buy some of the best non wifi programmable thermostat also searched as best non smart thermostat as the word wifi has become synonym with smart although it is not. You can buy them for a minimal investment and get substantial savings.
| IMAGE |  |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Honeywell RTH8560D T5 touch screen | Honeywell T4 pro TH4110U2005 | ||
| Price | $$ | $$ | $$ | $$ |
| Touch screen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule type (weekdays , weekend) |
5-2 | 7 | 7, 5-2, 5-1-1 | 7, 5-2 |
| 4 Periods per day | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes Choose between 4 or 2 periods a day |
| Heating stage(Max) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Cooling stage(Max) | 2 , 1 for heat pump | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Heat pumps | Yes(With auxilary) | Yes(With auxillary) | Yes (With auxilary) | Yes (With auxiliary) |
| Exception | Electric baseboard heating. | Electric baseboard heating. | Multistage and Electric baseboard heat | Multi stage cooling and 120/240 VAC line-voltage systems. |
| Power | Battery | Battery(Optional C wire) | Battery | Battery |
| Warranty | 1 Year | 1 Year | 5 Year | 3 Years |
| Review | Read review | Read review | Read review | Read review |
| Auto cool or heat (Auto change over) | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Temperature swing and Adjustable cycles | +/-1 No | No(Adjustable cycles per hour for heating and cooling) | +/-1(fixed) Adjustable cycles per hour in heating and cooling mode. | +-2.25 Yes (0.25 increment type)
0 to 9 deg F offset for 2 nd stage of heat pump. |
| Save Program to memory on battery outage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Filter change/usage reminder | Yes | – | Yes | – |
| Adjustable days Vacation mode | Yes (Permanent Hold work as Vacation mode) | Yes | Yes (Away mode for selected no of days and also schedule override or Hold mode for manual operation) | Yes(Hold mode for as long as it has battery power)
Setback mode for 1 to 12 hrs or 1 to 30 days. |
| IMAGE |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | LuxPRO FBA_PSP511LC | Honeywell RTH7600D | |
| Price | $$ | $$ | $$ |
| Touch screen | No | No | Yes |
| Schedule type (weekdays , weekends) |
Each day programmable | 5-2 | 7 |
| 4 Periods per day | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heating stage(Max) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Cooling stage(max) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Heat pumps | Yes(without Auxiliary) | Yes(With auxiliary) | Yes (upto 2 stage) |
| Exception | Multistage, baseboard, 3 wire hydronic | 3 wire zonevalves, 120V systems, or multistage systems | Electric baseboard heat (120 to 240 volts) |
| Power | Battery | Battery | Battery (optional if you use c wire) |
| Warranty | 1 Year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Review | Read review | Read review | Read review |
| Auto cool or heat(Auto change over) | No | No | Yes |
| Temperature swing, Adjustable cycles | +/- 1, You can set minimum time between heating or cooling Cycles. | +/-3 (Using temperature Differential in increment of 0.25) | +/- 1 No |
| Save Program to memory on battery outage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Filter change/usage reminder | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adjustable days Vacation mode | No(Only temperature hold for manual operation) | No (Only temperature hold for manual operation) | No (Only temperature hold for manual operation) |
Programming option.
The best programmable thermostat has flexible program settings. One programming option is a 7 day program which allows you to choose a unique program for each day of the week with up to four periods per day. This option is great for people with very busy schedules. 5-1-1 programming allows a person to have one setting for the weekdays and a separate one for each of the weekend days. 5-2 setting also allows for different programming options for the weekday and the weekend, but it is programmed for both weekdays together and not individually. And finally, the one week setting, allows a different program for each week. Especially helpful with those who travel often.
Compatibility
Make sure the thermostat you’re buying will work with your heating/cooling system because while most thermostats work with common cooling and heating systems, some might have exceptions.Also the heating and cooling stages in your home is crucial before buying your thermostat.Heating and cooling stage in your home can be determined based on the wiring labels in your home.Wire labelled Y is for air conditioner and the one labeled white is for heating furnace. If you have Yellow wire labeled Y1 and Y2 you have two stage cooling and similarly if W is labeled W1 and W2 you have two stage heating otherwise you have one stage heating or cooling.Most thermostat listed above have maximum 2 stage heating and two stage cooling. This is the maximum you can expect in this price range.Also check the compatibility for heat pumps.Most heat pumps have single heating or cooling speeds,but some have auxiliary compressor unit in case of cooler conditions.Most thermostats are compatible with one and some with two/multi stage heat pumps.
Higher/adjustable temperature swing for heating and cooing
Most digital thermostat comes with +-1 temperature differential.It means the thermostat switches on or off a HVAC device (AC or furnace) at one above or below the set temperature respectively .It is called the switching cycle of the HVAC device.Some thermostat like lux however have maximum +-3 setting by changing which you can adjust the number of cycles.Others like Honeywell allows you to directly define number of cycles. Controlling number of cycles is helpful because it will reduce wear and tear of HVAC device by frequent switching ans also saves power bill because it is the at the start that a HVAC device ex Air conditioner draws the maximum power.Above list includes some models that have the adjustable switching cycle.
Auto Heat or cool mode.
We know that we can switch the mode to cooling(AC) in case of hot day/seasons and vice versa in cold days/seasons.But what when the temperature in not so predictable and there is higher swing in temperature in days and night(warmer day and cooler night). Some thermostats comes with option to automatically change mode if temperature remain above or below the set point for some time and the the selected mode HVAC device(AC or furnace) was not triggered on command.Not all thermostats has this feature but those that do comes with a price.
Batteries
In case of programmable only thermostat with no radio the batteries can last for about one year or so and if it runs on batteries you don’t necessarily need to connect the C wire to the thermostats and vice versa.When used as a backup it will power the thermostat and save the program in the memory in case of power outage.But most models nowadays have battery independent memory.Most models will have have replace batteries alarm showing months before it die out.
Temperature hold
All thermostat comes with manual program override called the temporary or permanent hold.When you put the thermostat on hold the temperature set point is given by you until you take the hold off.There is also a different vacation mode in which you can also determine the the number of days after which it will come on to its normal programmed schedule.Above list have mentioned whether the model has this feature or the normal hold.
Other features
Since there are a quite a lot of models and brands competing in the programmable domain different models come with unique features that can also be an advantage over others like easy interface for programming and controlling.Furnace filter change reminder based on elapsed time,Screen with basic touchscreen, large display or back lights etc.
Is it possible to save money using programmable thermostat ?
If you want to know ether it is possible or not to save money using programmable, the answer is of course it is.The correct question then is how and whether using a programmable thermostat is any advantage over a basic setback thermostat.
As with any machine it can only be useful to certain extent and its efficiency depends on the person using it.This is true even for modern smart thermostats.Here is a simple chart and proposed saving for simple household.
In general 1 degree setback (less in winter,more in summer) for 8 hrs result in 1 % saving in energy consumption.
This is what experts say.
My first reaction to people who say that thermostat setbacks don’t work has been to say that they need to go back and study the basic physics of heat transfer. After going through all this and giving Kidd a chance to post his views here in the Energy Vanguard Blog, that’s still my view.
No, actually that’s not just my view. The fundamental principles of physics are well established, and the research shows that thermostat setbacks can save energy. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.
Many people who have programmable thermostats leave them in the ‘permanent hold’ position, as we do because we don’t have a regular enough schedule. A lot of people with either kind of thermostat use setbacks to save energy.
Thermostat setbacks are where the energy savings come from.
Programmable thermostats may or may not be programmed or manually adjusted for setbacks.
So, the answer to the title question is:
No, programmable thermostats do not save energy. Not without some help from you anyway.
Thermostat Myths: Busted
- Your thermostat can’t control the intensity of your furnace
- Setbacks and setups do save you money
- Programmable thermostats can save you $180 annually if you set them right
Programmable thermostats can save money — not just in theory — buit only if they’re used correctly. Pick your set points based on your household’s habits, and then leave them there. Don’t fuss with the thermostat. The following is a typical energy-efficient program:
Remember its your behaviors and motivation to save energy and ultimately energy bills that will be the real factor.A programmable thermostat can only help you achieve that goal.