We just received our Jan/Feb Natural Gas Bill and I was able to calculate how much of a difference the new programmable thermostat made.
'Dumb' Thermostat Natural Gas Usage- Jan 12 - Feb 9, 2011 (28 days)
- Natural Gas used = 60.8 Therms @ $58.37
- Heating Degree Days = 1029
- Therms per Heating Degree Day = 0.0590
Programmable Thermostat Natural Gas Usage- Jan 10 - Feb 8, 2012 (29 days)
- Natural Gas used = 51 Therms @ $47.03
- Heating Degree Days = 911
- Therms per Heating Degree Day = 0.0559
- 5.1% Reduction in Natural Gas Used
While a 5% reduction may not seem like much, I work from home and don't set the heat back during the day. The payback period on the programmable thermostat ($25 +tax) should be about 1.5 years.
All told, we have cut our Natural Gas used for space heating by
49%. Not bad for a few insulation and air-sealing projects on our 'normal' suburban home. I've gone into more detail on the results here:
A Thermostat That's Smarter by Half | EcoDaddyo.com
Step by step,
Tim