Derek Cole recommends setting summer thermostats to 73-75°F and sealing air leaks around windows and doors to cut energy waste. Smart thermostats like Google Nest learn your routine and let you adjust temperature remotely, saving energy even if you still tweak the wall unit manually.
Hey, on this episode we're talking about should I invest in a smart thermostat and how do I save with energy consumption. You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. I know it's been a while since you've seen me. I still have multiple sclerosis, so throughout this video If you hear me slurring, it's not because I'm drunk or taking too much medication. It's because of MS. But I want to talk about some very important topics. Two questions today. One, how can I be more energy efficient? And number two, should I invest in a smart thermostat? So question one, how can I be more energy efficient at home? A few things. One, invest in a programmable thermostat. It is important to have a programmable thermostat at home so you can set the temperature what you want before you get home and while you're away. Now, the nice folks at Energy Star recommend you to set your home in the summer at 78 degrees, okay? We're in southeastern North Carolina. That is going to be a problem. I think 78 is too high. Should probably be not above 75. Um, but if you set the program— if you have a thermostat, it's a programmable thermostat, you set it at 6 PM, you want to be 73 degrees. You come home, you're off work, it's going to turn the unit on and the algorithm is going to know how long it will take to get it to 73 degrees. It's not you coming home at 6 PM, sending it down to 73, and hoping and waiting for it to get down to 73. If you wanted to be 73 when you get home and it can do that, it will do that. For you without running and running and running. But again, 78 Energy Star recommends, I think that's probably a little too high. Another thing, air leaks is a problem. Windows, doors, outlets, make sure those are sealed and those are airtight. Those are some of your biggest culprits of air leaks. So in the summertime and the wintertime, that cold or hot air is trying to get into the house. You want to stop it from getting into the house, so seal the air leaks. In the summertime, close your blinds, close your curtains. You don't want sunlight coming in that much. When it's warm outside, you don't want that heat gain to happen in the house. Now, in the wintertime, when it's cold outside, you want that sun to help offset the fact that you're trying to get the heat in the house. But in the summertime, you want it to be— you want to stay outside. So that's another way you can save energy, is, uh, don't let that heat in the house. Don't let those the sunlight into the house. Even though it's good for you, it's also gonna have trouble cooling down the home. One more tip: stop cooking inside when it's warm outside. When it's a 100-degree day, the last thing you need to do is when you get home at 6, 5:30, 6 PM, is cook inside. Get the stove on, dry the clothes. You don't want to add all the heat into the house. You're trying to keep heat out of the house, so don't add heat to the house voluntarily with appliances if you do not have to. Take it outside on the grill, cook the dinner out there. Stop bringing it into the house. Number 2, smart thermostat. Should I invest in a smart thermostat? I believe you should. Wi-Fi thermostats are amazing. You've probably seen the Google Nest thermostat. That's also— that's a kind of a learning thermostat. You don't really set the program, you, you kind of do it yourself as you go through your day, and then the thermostat kind of learns your behavior. It knows you get home at 6 PM It knows when you get home, you'd like it to be 73 degrees. So that's a different smart thermostat. A Wi-Fi thermostat, having it on your tablet or your phone, is a big help because you can monitor your temperature throughout, throughout the day. You can adjust your thermostat before you come home or before anyone comes home. You can adjust it that way. I mean, It's amazing what— how smart they can— how smart they are these days. So take advantage of it and use it to your advantage. It goes back to the first question of saving energy. A smart thermostat can save you energy, so use that, take advantage of it. And years ago, we started doing the Wi-Fi thermostats. By the way, it's a standard here to replace the unit. We install a new Wi-Fi thermostat, and I got excited the first time we're offering them. Like, man, this is so cool. People can adjust it when they're at work before they get home, when they're on vacation on the way home, they can adjust the thermostat on their phone or tablet. Well, so far the majority of the use has been homeowners sitting on the couch and adjusting the thermostat from here versus going to the wall and adjusting the thermostat. So not quite as I envisioned, but it works. It still works. But, uh, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments or #AskDerekCole and we'll get him on the show.
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