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Thermostats
Your thermostat, the electronic device that
operates your furnace or air conditioner, can be both an energy and money saving
device (by only heating and cooling when
required) and a convenience.
The simplest thermostats have
two modes:
heating and cooling. In heating
mode, when
the temperature at the thermostat
falls below
the temperature you select, the
furnace is
started. In cooling mode, when
the temperature
rises above the temperature you
select, the
air condition is started.
Energy efficient and higher end
thermostats
have additional features that
save you money
and allow for closer management
of temperature
without your continual intervention:
- remote temperature sensing: this feature
allows you to place the thermometer in a
different location from the thermostat
- multi-zone: allows you to control the temperature
in different parts of your
house
- day/night settings: allows you to easily
"set back" the temperature
when
you are ready to retire
- programmable: these allow you to input complex
temperature settings, such
as temperature
by specific time of day and
day of week
- occupancy sensing: using various techniques,
some thermostats are able to determine if
a room is occupied and then change the temperature
of that room.
Before buying a thermostat, be
sure to make
sure that it is compatible with
your heating
and cooling system. |
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