ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602060001
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Cut Your Utility Bill
SOURCE: JAMES DULLEY
Q: We want to improve our comfort and lower the heating and cooling bills. New setback thermostats are much cheaper now, but are they any easier to program? How much will one cut my utility bills?
A: Prices of "smart" programmable thermostats have dropped. Most will pay back their cost in a month or two. Depending on your climate, installing one will cut your heating and cooling costs by up to 25 percent.
Savings come without sacrifice of comfort or convenience. In fact, comfort is often better because these thermostats hold room temperatures even.
Your house can be toasty warm when you go to bed. The thermostat automatically cools it down over night while you sleep and then warms it up again just before you awake in the morning. You never even sense that the temperature has changed, yet you saved a lot of money.
Some thermostats are so smart (intelligent recovery) that they remember how long it took to reheat your house in the morning. The next morning, they adjust and start the furnace at just in right time so it is warm when you awaken.
New smart thermostats are simple to program; however, if you are inept at these things (your VCR still flashes 12:00), choose one with a built-in setback program. You just push one button for a basic generic schedule.
With battery backup and "arm-chair" programming features, the thermostat can be snapped off the wall and conveniently programmed anywhere. There is a simple color-coded four-wire hookup for the majority of thermostats. Since thermostats operate on only 24 volts, they are safe to work on.
Consider the number of different daily time/temperature schedules your family needs. The basic schedule options are 5+2 (one for weekdays and one for weekends), 5+1+1 (one for weekdays and one for Saturday and one for Sunday) and 7-day (a different schedule for each day).
There are typically four schedule periods - wake, day, evening and sleep. Some smart thermostats, like the one in my house, have an instant override button to temporarily bypass the set schedule without reprogramming it.
For example, if I leave to go to a football game for four hours, I can instantly set it back for only four hours. This is also a convenient feature if you are home sick or are on vacation.
Some additional convenience features to consider are a filter change time indicator so you don't forget, a backlit display and low battery indicator. Automatic heat-to-cool changeover gives year-round comfort.
For a buyer's guide of nine smart thermostat manufacturers listing number of daily time/temperature schedules and temperature settings, features, prices and a chart showing the savings, write to James Dulley, The Roanoke Times, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45244. Ask for Update Bulletin No. 783. Please include $2 and a business-size self-addressed stamped.
Q: I just built a timber-framed house with thick stress-skin panels for insulation. Should I finish the timbers with urethane or varnish now or wait?
A: Most heavy timbers used in this type of super-efficient construction are still fairly green when you receive them. The moisture content is high. It takes about one year per inch thickness for the timbers to adequately dry.
Wait at least several years before sealing the timbers with urethane. If moisture is trapped in it, mildew will start under the urethane. Then it will have to be sanded down to remove it.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: New simple-to-program thermostat.by CNB