(From the PressofAtlanticCity.com for January 17, 2009)  by Ben Leach

"Local heating professionals disagree over whether keeping thermostats low when no one is home -- and then turning them back up upon return -- saves energy and money."

Is is better to turn the thermostat down when going out for the day, and then turning it back up when you return home?  Many people are under the assumption that doing so saves energy, helps the environment and conserves energy.  But does it really?

Even heating professionals tend to disagree over the issue of whether money is saved turning the thermostat down.  Some pros feel consumers actually end up paying more money doing so!

Joseph Merlo of JEM Heating and Cooling in Egg Harbor Township tells his customers to keep the thermostat at one steady temperature to best save money.

Merlo explains that when the temperature in the room cools, everything in the room, including the furniture and even the floor, get colder.

So when you return home and jack up the thermostat, the air temperature in the room gets warmer, but the furniture and floor remain cold, acting like ice cubes, giving off cold air in the room.

Makes sense to me!  Merlo claims it takes about 24 hours to get the everything in the room to the temperature the thermostat is actually set at!.  He asserts that a constantly fluctuating thermostat will never allow the furniture, floor, and ceiling of the room to get back to the desired temperature.

Thus, greater overall energy consumption is needed to keep the home heated to temperature and to bring the temperature up.

Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Energy disagrees.  On their website, they post that keeping the thermostat stable at a lower temperature for long periods of time clearly saves more energy because fuel "is saved between the time the teperature stabilizes and the next time heat is needed."

The Press article recognizes a Canadian government study that has found that by reducing the thermostat's temperature from 72 degrees to 64 degrees used 6.5% less natural gas.

Another local contractor makes sense of the confusion: " We tell people to feel it out.  You don't want to sit in a chair that's ice cold. And you don't want people catching pneumonia just to save a few extra dollars." (Gary McElwee, heating contractor)

McElwee advises people that use radiant heating, which supplies heating directly to the floor or walls, should definately not turn down their thermostats.  Nor should people who use heat pumps, or those who have heating systems that extract the heat from the outside air.

You don't want to set the temperature lower for heat pumps because it can cause a malfunction in the unit.

Thermostats seem to make the biggest difference in heating.  Most newer homes are using digital thermostats which keep the home at very exact temperatures.  Older homes, using dial thermostats, tend to keep the room temperature several degrees above what is needed to heat the home, making the home uncomfortably warm (and use more energy).

Merlo advises readers to find a thermostat that you can match to the exact heating system you have in your home.

So, after reading this post, are you going to turn your thermostat down when you leave the house for the day, or are you going to leave it alone?  The debate rages on...