Craig Rettig.com

Yes, it’s been a while, but between the holiday bustle and a nasty head cold, I haven’t been extremely chatty as of late.

In any case, the end of the year brings with it certain things that need done, and the changing of the calendar is a good time as any. Maybe these will help remind you of a few things you need to do.

• Change the batteries in your home’s smoke detectors and test them.
• Clean out the inside of your computer(s). This is something that should be done at least annually and probably 2–3 times a year if you keep your computer on the floor, have a dusty home, or have pets who shed.
• Change the passwords of all my sensitive accounts, such as e-mail, banking, credit cards, and any online bill-pay accounts. You should be doing this at least once a year to help combat password hacking. MakeUseOf has an excellent guide on creating strong, but easy-to-remember passwords.
• Take a personal inventory. This will include things I’ve accomplished, things I meant to accomplish but didn’t, and goals for the next year. I prefer “goals” to “resolutions” as it sounds more imperative and definite. Plus, there isn’t that triteness associated with New Year’s resolutions, which most people break by February anyway. If you are the resolution type, however, Leo Babauta has a great article on sticking to your resolutions over on Zen Habits.

If I don’t post anything between now and then, have a happy, fun, and safe New Year’s Eve.

As winter begins to kick in here in the Mid-South, the inevitable sound of the furnace running begins as well. Possibly the best investment I made shortly after buying my home was a programmable thermostat.

My house had a standard thermostat installed when I moved in, and I just set it on 70°F and left it. My utility bill on my 1,100-square foot home was between $200–250 per month. While that’s not hateful, I figured I could do better.

The following year, I purchased a programmable thermostat for around $35 and installed it. The process took about an hour total time. The shape of the new thermostat was different from the old one, so I had to spackle the old screw holes and paint over the area, so it was around thirty minutes of work over a two-day period. If you can find a thermostat the same size as your current one, it’ll save you even more time.

I programmed it using the following schedule:

Monday–Friday:
06:45 — 70°F
I get up at 7am, so I want it warm (or at least warming) when I arise.

08:15 — 65°F
I go to work around this time, so there’s no need for the house to be at full temperature. Other people might suggest dropping it further, but then the furnace has to spend a lot of time "catching up" at the next time break, and you lose some of the money you saved. Additionally, the walls and floors of the house cool down to this level, creating additional load on the furnace. Five degrees seems to be the sweet spot.

18:00 — 70°F
This is typically when I get home, so it’s time to get the house back up to a comfortable room temperature.

23:45 — 67°F
I go to bed around midnight and sleep under a heavy comforter, so I stay plenty warm in bed. I also find it easier to sleep in somewhat cooler air, so there’s no need to keep the house at full temperature overnight.

Saturday–Sunday:
08:30 — 70°F
This is when I typically get up. I’ll then keep this temperature the rest of the day. If I’m going out for the night, I might manually turn the heat back down to 65–67°F, but this isn’t regular enough to set up a program for.

23:45 — 67°F
Same as above.

The final result? Gas bills of $175–225 per month, saving around $25–50 a month, meaning the thing paid for itself almost right away.

Now, if you or another family member is home during the day, you’ll probably only be able to set the temperature drop at night, so your savings won’t be as dramatic, but even if you only save $5–10 a month, it’ll pay for itself in a year, and if you use similar scheduling for your air conditioning, that’s a minimum of $60–120 extra in your pocket each year.