The increased cost of living is causing real concern, particularly when it comes to heating our homes as many areas are still experiencing extremely cold weather. One of the many ways to save energy at home in winter involves careful adjustments to your thermostat.
According to Anthony Carrino – a home designer, developer and Trane Residential partner known for his appearances on HGTV's Kitchen Cousins – there's an ideal temperature that will help you to conserve energy without wearing multiple jumpers at once.
Anthony has over 20 years of experience designing and building homes, and now has digital series called TheBuild.tv, which helps homeowners make their renovations a reality.
Anthony Carrino's thermostat energy saving tip
'For optimal cost-effectiveness, a general guideline that many people overlook is to set your thermostat to about 68 degrees Fahrenheit while at home and to lower it about 10-12 degrees at night or when you're away,' says Anthony. This works out as around 20 degrees Celsius during the day and 13.3 degrees at night (which, we admit, sounds a little chilly).
But heating your home to around these temperatures will strike a good balance between comfort and energy efficiency. Even if your partner or housemate disagrees...
'Setting it and forgetting it with a smart thermostat is a no-brainer that can help reduce energy expenses this winter and year-round,' Anthony Carrino adds.
If you usually change your thermostat manually, it's so easy to forget to lower it at night. But this often means we end up with a house that's warmer than we need it to be while we're tucked up under our best duvets.
If you want to cut down on bills, it might be time to invest in a good smart thermostat. These are incredibly useful as they allow you to change the temperature of your home remotely on your smartphone, tablet or computer, and create 'zones' at different temperatures throughout the house.
Anthony's 'set it and forget it' thermostat energy saving tip is well worth a go. Will you be trying it?