First, let’s look at the best temperature settings for your thermostat. For many homeowners, keeping the thermostat at 68 degrees in the winter is both comfortable and cost-efficient. At night, when the household is sleeping, or during the day when everyone is away, lowering the thermostat 6 to 10 degrees is usually doable. If you can turn the thermostat down, even more, say 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours, you can save 5 to 15 percent a year on your heating bill, which represents a savings of about 1 percent for each degree, as long as you set the temperature back for at least eight hours.

In the summer, adjust your temperature with the same strategy but in the opposite direction. Try setting the thermostat to 75 to 78 degrees when you’re home, and turn the temperature up a few degrees when you’re away and less cooling is required. At night, try cooling with portable fans or ceiling fans, if needed, rather than lowering the thermostat.

You’ll need to be flexible with these seasonal temperatures at times. For example, if you have a big group at your home for holidays or parties, you’ll likely need to use a cooler-than-normal temperature setting for maximum room comfort. If you go out of town for more than a day or so, it’s a good idea to adjust the temperature to a higher or lower setting, depending on the time of year, since the house will be empty. In the winter months, however, it’s a good idea to keep the temperature at 55 degrees or above to lessen the chance of frozen pipes.

According to energy.gov,, it’s a common misconception that furnaces and air conditioners work harder than normal, depleting any savings, to return a home to a comfortable temperature after a thermostat has been set back or turned up. The converse is actually true, as this heating infographic shows, because when a house drops below its normal temperature in the winter, it loses energy to the surrounding environment more slowly. In the summer, the higher interior temperature slows the rate that heat enters the house. (American Home Shield 2019)