Programmable Thermostat In Commercial Buildings

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A programmable thermostat is a thermostat that is designed to adjust the temperature according to pre-programmed settings that take effect at different times of the day. Occasionally, they may be referred to as clock thermostats or setback thermostats, but these are not common names in the United States.

Heating and cooling losses from a building become greater as the system has to work harder to achieve the set temperature. A programmable thermostat allows reduction of these losses by allowing the temperature difference to be reduced at times when the reduced amount of heating or cooling would not bother anyone.

For example, during the summer, a building may want the temperature to be cool for the workers inside, but not before or after the workers are there. The temperature can be set to a comfortable 75 degrees F between 8:00am and 6:00pm, but set to 80 degrees F during other times. Also, over the weekend when few people are expected to be in the office, the temperature can be set to whatever is acceptable for the building and equipment inside. This allows the building owners to save on cooling costs, while ...
... maintaining a comfortable work environment.

In the heating season, the temperate can be allowed to drop on the weekends and off times when few people are expected to be in the building. Instead of trying to maintain a building at 68 degrees F at night, the building can be maintained at 60 degrees F. This saves on heating costs. In fact, it is not unusual to achieve a 30% reduction in energy use over the year. This levels of savings is achievable without huge swings in temperature, or discomfort for occupants. Programming the temperature from a remote location also ensures that unauthorized persons don’t change the temperature.

The most basic clock thermostats can only implement one program †a hotter period and a cooler period. More complex digital thermostats provide more versatility. The number of modes per day depends on the model used, but most models can specify at least four periods per day, with or without consideration for weekends. In fact, some sophisticated models can be programmed per day and per hour. This is very convenient if your commercial building is only open 3 days per week, or has a particular rotating schedule. However, be sure that the model you select isn’t so complex that it overwrites any potential savings you would get from it!

Another form of commercial thermostat uses pneumatic controls. A change in the air pressure supplied to the thermostat will change it between cold and hot settings. These are better for maintaining a particular temperature, but often better at fine tuning for the current conditions. In a large office, a programmable thermostat and a pneumatic one may be the optimal way to achieve comfort. The programmable thermostat keeps a particular temperature throughout the building, but the pneumatic control (since it only has warmer or cooler, and no specific numbers) can be adjust room-by-room for the occupants’ comfort.

Using a programmable thermostat isn’t just for homeowners. Using a programmable thermostat in a commercial building is one way to ensure that the occupants are happy and comfortable while reducing energy costs.