Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I know you’re thinking you should skip this team strategy revision as you have read countless posts about the benefits and cost savings of programmable thermostats but I promise you this will be the most informational one yet!
The reason I implement these revised team strategies is to improve the Cash Accumulators organization by reducing our expenses to increase our savings rate. At the same time I always imagined you would implement these team strategy revisions if applicable to your own situation and realize similar savings. Then you would happily continue reading, discovering additional ways to increase your savings and decrease the amount of time to reach financial independence.
As you can tell from the picture we recently installed a programmable thermostat this past week in our home. When I sat down and began writing this team strategy I realized there was a couple important things I wanted to touch on because;
I don’t want you guys to run out buy and install a programmable thermostat and not realize similar savings as myself. Then end up being disgruntled with Mr. Captain Cash and start cheering for the FI LifeStylers!
Secondly, when determining whether it was a worthwhile team strategy to pursue for the Cash Accumulators as I was researching online I seen there was a lot of misconceptions about exactly how a programmable thermostat saves you money.
A Programmable Thermostat Will Not Save You Money If!
Similar to any money saving device a programmable thermostat will not save you money unless it is used correctly. It produces little savings if once installed you leave it at the same temperature setting as your non programmable thermostat.
Additionally it is important to realize the exact same amount of heating and cooling savings can be achieved with your non-programmable thermostat as a programmable thermostat if you remember to turn it down every time before you go to work, bed, or leave the house. The thing is that most of us, including me often forget to do this when we leave our home. A programmable thermostat automates the process for us, therefore reducing human error.
For some reason you believe that you can now maintain your home at higher than normal temperature because when your were gone for a couple of hours you left your house cooler than normal. This will completely destroy any savings and most likely end up increasing your energy bill.
How does a programmable thermostat actually save us money?
To understand how a programmable thermostats saves us money we need to first understand the concepts of heat transfer.
- The amount of heat transfer is dependent upon the temperature difference between the your house’s temperature and the temperature outside
- The amount of heat transfer is also affected by the size of your home and roof meaning the area available for heat transfer
- The amount of heat transfer is also affected by the coefficient of heat transfer meaning how well your house is insulated.
A programmable thermostat only works on the first bullet point being reducing the temperature difference between the temperature inside your house and the temperature outside. The energy saved while your house is cooling down to your desired temperature set point for when you go to work, bed, or out of the house is completely offset by the energy required to raise your home back up to the temperature you want your home to be at when you arrive home or wake up. It is only during the elapsed time period that your house is cooler than the usual temperature and closer to the ambient temperature outside that you are saving money.
On average, each one degree Celsius closer to ambient temperature for eight hours, you’ll use about 1% less energy.
How Have The Cash Accumulators Implemented This Revised Team Strategy?
Every Sunday night I have set a reoccurring alarm on my phone to go off reminding me to set the thermostat for the upcoming week depending upon our schedule. This idea has been working great so far.
How much heating and cooling cost savings will implementing a programmable thermostat save us?
The back of the packaging that the thermostat came in claims it can save up to 33% of the costs associated with heating or cooling your home! I guess time will tell how much this revised team strategy actually improves the profitability of the Cash Accumulators organization.
I plan on doing an update in the next couple months if I have noticed any difference. How I am going to do this with purchasing our home this summer and heating costs impacted on the average ambient temperatures, and energy costs is yet to be determined.
How Much Does All This Even Matter?
I have an energy rebate program at work. For a programmable thermostat we are eligible for a $50 rebate. Meaning the $90 thermostat will actually cost me $40. I’m sure if we are able to achieve anywhere near a 33% reduction in our heating costs it will take one maybe two months to be in the black and be saving money.
I implemented this team strategy because it was an easy, low cost, and has the possibility of a very attractive rate of return if used correctly.
I ask how much does all this even matter because our home was built in the late 1970’s and I have heard older homes on average have enough air leaks to equate to having a 3×3 window open all the time. I believe there will be a lot more significant energy savings obtained from sealing up these air leaks than a programmable thermostat maintaining the temperature in a home with possibly a 3×3 window open all the time.
It still all helps reduce heating costs which is the goal of these revised team strategies. In a perfect world the Cash Accumulators home would be a completely energy-efficient home incurring very little costs associated with heating. Here are some additional team strategies I am looking into so far are to reduce our heating costs;
- Caulking or expanding foam around the windows, doors and corner seams outside the house
- Water heater blanket along with lower water heater temperature further
- Replacing older windows with new windows with a better U-factor
- Adding insulation in the attic with a better R-value
- Continue to and improving upon utilizing solar heat wherever possible
- Sealing windows with shutters or blinds as many of our windows do not have blinds right now
- Seal any openings outside around the house where cables, or pipes such as natural gas go into the house with caulk
- Possibly have a blower test done dependent upon cost to find any air leaks
Stay tuned for additional team strategy revisions if you wish to make your home more energy-efficient!
Let me know of any additional costs associated with heating you know about or have implemented in the comments.
Mr. Captain Cash
Leading the way to financial independence
The post Why Your Programmable Thermostat Isn’t Saving You A Dime! appeared first on Mr. Captain Cash.