Winter-Readiness-2018

Your ecobee3 lite thermostat has the potential to help you save year-round on your heating and cooling costs. However, improper settings may increase your energy usage, resulting in higher winter bills. It’s important to understand your device’s settings to maximize its energy efficiency.

Threshold settings.

Threshold settings for heat pumps with auxiliary heat can be configured to operate for comfort or for energy savings.

If you’re looking to save energy this winter, you can make a few of the simple adjustments listed below on your ecobee3 lite thermostat to limit your heat pump from using auxiliary heat.

How to navigate to threshold settings:

Only the applicable threshold settings will be displayed. (i.e., If no air conditioner is configured, you will not see the options related to air conditioners.)

On your ecobee thermostat:

Main Menu

Select Settings

Select Installation Settings

Select Thresholds

How to configure
your settings:

Change your “Compressor to Aux Temperature Delta” – Auxiliary heat will not activate and operate with the compressor until the degree difference between room temperature and set point temperature is greater than this setting. We recommend setting to 5°F.

Increase your “Compressor to Aux Runtime” – This changes the maximum number of minutes the compressor is run before activating the auxiliary heat. We recommend setting to AUTO.

Lower your “Compressor Min Outdoor Temperature” – The compressor will not run below this outdoor temperature. We recommend setting to 0°F.

Confirm your “Aux Reverse Staging” – For optimum efficiency, this setting does not need to be set to enable. We recommend OFF.

Confirm your “Aux Heat Max Outdoor Temperature” – The auxiliary heat will not run when the outdoor temperature is above this point. We recommend setting to 70°F.

home exterior - front door on a snowy day

Comfort settings.

During the colder months, BGE recommends that you schedule your thermostat to the following winter heating set points:

ecobee3 lite thermostat with sleep icon - set to 66 degrees

Sleep = 66^°

ecobee3 lite thermostat with keys icon - set to 64 degrees

Away = 64^°

ecobee3 lite thermostat with house icon - set to 68 degrees

Home = 68^°

For additional information on comfort settings, you can contact ecobee directly.

Alerts.

To prepare for the winter months, you can set the following auxiliary alerts:

Aux Heat Runtime Alert: This alert notifies you that the auxiliary heat runtime duration setting has been exceeded.
Aux Outdoor Temp Alert: This alert notifies you if the auxiliary heat is triggered on when the outdoor temperature exceeds the selected alert temperature setting.
Low Temp Alert: To prevent home damage due to freezing, you can set a Low Temperature Alert. The low temperature range can be from 35 to 68°F (1.5 to 20°C).
High Temp Alert: To help manage energy usage, you can set a High Temperature Alert to notify you when room temperature rises above the alert setting. The high temperature range can be from 60 to 105°F (15.5 to 40.5°C).

How to set reminders and alerts:

Select Menu at the bottom left-hand corner of your thermostat or on your ecobee app
Select Reminders & Alerts
Select Alert Preferences

Setting your thermostat isn’t the only way to save. Here are some additional tips to cut your home’s energy consumption:

Maintain your heating system.
Home heating is the single highest energy user. It is recommended to have your heating system serviced routinely by a certified HVAC company to ensure your system is running efficiently.
Set up reminders and alerts.
Set reminders and alerts on your ecobee3 lite to stay on schedule with filter replacements and regular system maintenance. This will help keep your HVAC system running in tip-top shape, making it more energy efficient and helping you to save more. Find out more about configuring reminders and alerts.
Stay connected.
The Weather Impact algorithms help your ecobee understand how the outdoor temperature affects your home’s heating and cooling and uses this information to learn how efficiently your home maintains temperature. This will allow your ecobee to make smarter heating and cooling decisions to prevent your system from running unnecessarily. You can view your Weather Impact data on your Web Portal.

For additional tips, visit BGE.com/save.