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The most reliable way to cut gas use is to keep your normal occupied temperature for comfort, then schedule a modest setback while everyone is asleep or away for about eight hours. Set the thermostat to recover before people wake up or return, and adjust the size of the setback using actual comfort and runtime data rather than a universal temperature rule.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says Americans should set thermostats to whatever temperature they choose. Its 2024 Energy Saver guidance adds that setting back for at least eight hours a day can save as much as 10% per year on heating and cooling costs. The goal is therefore not the coldest possible house; it is avoiding hours of heating an unoccupied home.
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Why a setback reduces gas use
Your home loses heat whenever indoor air is warmer than outdoors. A lower indoor temperature reduces that difference, so the building loses heat more slowly while you sleep or are out. The furnace or boiler then has less work to do during those hours. When the thermostat returns to the occupied setting, the system replaces the heat lost during the setback.
DOE’s 2024 Energy Saver guidance estimates savings of up to 10% per year on heating and cooling costs when a thermostat is set back for at least eight hours each day. “It is the position of DOE that Americans should set their thermostats to whatever temperature they choose” (DOE, 2019). That statement matters: comfort, health, pets, plumbing and the capabilities of your heating equipment all take priority over a prescribed number.
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Heating and cooling account for almost half of the average American household’s annual energy bill—more than $900, according to ENERGY STAR. Even a partial reduction in heating runtime can therefore be worthwhile, but your result depends on weather, insulation, equipment efficiency, occupancy and the settings you actually tolerate.
How many degrees should you turn down?
There is no single setback temperature that is right for every house. Start with a small reduction from your normal occupied setting—just enough to notice a change in runtime without making bedrooms or living areas unpleasant. Keep that setting for several nights, then increase or reduce the setback based on comfort, furnace runtime and the time needed to recover.
A household with infants, older adults, medical needs, pets, drafty rooms or freezing-weather plumbing may need a smaller setback or none at all. The correct setting is the lowest temperature your household can safely and comfortably maintain during the unoccupied period.
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The eight-hour period is long enough to create a meaningful reduction in heat loss and short enough to fit a typical sleep or workday. A shorter absence may still save energy, but the benefit will be smaller. A longer absence can justify a vacation or away mode, provided the thermostat keeps the home warm enough to protect plumbing and other sensitive areas.
Build a schedule around occupancy
Use the temperature you already find comfortable as the occupied baseline. Then create separate sleep and away periods instead of asking the thermostat to guess when comfort is needed.
Rank #2
- High use of the scheduling feature of the T5 thermostat saved customers between 8 and 16% on heating and cooling bills. Dollar savings range based on nationwide average annual single-family detached home's heat and cooling bills; actual savings varies based on consumption.
- Save Energy and Get Rewarded. Check with your energy provider about available energy savings rebates to save on your purchase. Plus, eligible customers can enroll in their local Utility's "DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAM" which can reward you for allowing the utility to slightly adjust your AC or furnace temperature settings when there is high energy demand.
- 7-Day Flexible Scheduling or Location Based Temperature Control. It’s your choice. 7-day scheduling programs your thermostat. Geofence technology helps make you comfortable by using your smartphone’s location to know when you’re away and when you return.
- Auto Home and Away Mode. Enjoy ideal temperatures at home, then save when away.
- ENERGY STAR certified. Help save energy, track your heating and cooling with monthly energy reports and get personalized tips on reducing energy use.
| Period | Thermostat action | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Occupied morning and evening | Use your normal comfortable heating setting. | Confirm that the home reaches this setting without long, uncomfortable recovery periods. |
| Sleep | Apply a modest setback for roughly eight hours. | Check bedroom comfort, condensation and whether anyone wakes up cold. |
| Work or school absence | Use the same or a slightly deeper setback when the house is empty for several hours. | Set recovery early enough that rooms are comfortable on arrival. |
| Short errands | Usually leave the schedule unchanged unless the absence is long enough to produce a useful setback. | Avoid frequent manual changes that create unnecessary recovery cycles. |
Step-by-step setup
- Record your comfort baseline. Note the occupied temperature, which rooms feel comfortable and the usual wake, departure, return and bedtime. This gives you a reference for every later adjustment.
- Create recurring periods. In the thermostat app or on the wall unit, open the schedule editor and add wake/occupied, leave, return and sleep periods. Use the device’s current labels; manufacturers may call them Home, Away, Sleep or Eco.
- Set a modest sleep setback. Lower the heating target only enough to test comfort. Do not assume the largest possible reduction will produce the best result, especially with advanced heating equipment.
- Program recovery before comfort is required. Set the return to the occupied temperature before wake-up or arrival. Use an equipment-specific “early start,” “adaptive recovery” or equivalent feature when available, rather than manually forcing heat at the last minute.
- Repeat for weekdays and weekends. Separate schedules prevent the thermostat from heating an empty house on workdays or leaving the home cool after a late weekend start.
- Review after several days. Compare heating runtime, room comfort and recovery time. Change one variable at a time so you can tell whether a different setback or transition time helped.
What a smart thermostat adds
Learning and occupancy schedules
ENERGY STAR says a smart thermostat can learn temperature preferences and establish schedules that move to energy-saving temperatures while occupants are asleep or away. Learning is useful only when its changes match your real routine; review the generated schedule so an unusual day does not become a permanent cold or warm period.
Geofencing
Geofencing uses the location of enrolled phones to detect departure and return. ENERGY STAR describes it as a way to reduce heating while the home is empty and begin preheating before occupants return. Set a suitable boundary and include every household member whose phone should count. A phone left at home, a guest, or disabled location permission can make geofencing inaccurate, so retain a manual override.
Vacation mode and freeze protection
Vacation mode can maintain a lower heating level during a multi-day absence while reducing the risk of frozen pipes. Before leaving, check the thermostat’s minimum-temperature or freeze-protection behavior and any alerts. In severe weather, also follow your plumber’s or heating contractor’s advice; a thermostat cannot detect every vulnerable pipe or water-filled area.
Room sensors
Temperature or occupancy sensors can address a common problem: the thermostat is comfortable in one location while another room is too cold or too warm. Place sensors in rooms people actually use, away from direct sunlight, supply registers, exterior doors and appliances. Configure the thermostat to prioritize the rooms occupied during sleep or evening periods, then verify that the furnace does not run excessively to satisfy a warmer sensor.
Runtime and energy reports
Usage reports let you compare heating runtime and comfort over time. Look for changes after a schedule adjustment rather than treating a single cold day as proof of savings. Record unusual weather, open windows, guests and equipment service so an apparent increase or decrease has context.
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- SAVE ABOUT 23% ON HVAC ENERGY*: The ENERGY STAR-certified Sensi smart thermostat can help you save energy with features like flexible scheduling, remote access and usage reports
- SIMPLE CONFIGURATION: Looks and feels like a thermostat. Has buttons and fits the same space as a traditional thermostat so you don’t have to patch and paint your walls
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Choosing an ENERGY STAR certified thermostat
Choose an ENERGY STAR certified model when possible. ENERGY STAR bases certification on real-world field data and requires scheduling, energy-use feedback, utility-program capability and heating-runtime savings criteria. The current heating criterion is a lower-95%-confidence weighted national-average annual heating-runtime reduction of at least 8%; the weighted average of 20th-percentile savings must be at least 4%. Those are certification benchmarks across evaluated homes, not a promise that every household will save the same amount.
| Decision point | Questions to answer before purchase |
|---|---|
| Heating compatibility | Is the system a gas furnace, boiler, heat pump or dual-fuel system? Does the thermostat control the required stages, valves, pumps or auxiliary heat? |
| Wiring and power | Is the existing wiring low-voltage? Is a C-wire present, or does the model include an approved adapter? ENERGY STAR notes that many smart thermostats require a C-wire for reliable power, although requirements differ. |
| Controls and schedules | Does it support recurring sleep, away, vacation, geofencing, sensor and recovery settings? |
| Reporting | Can you see heating runtime and compare periods, and can you export or retain that information? |
| Utility programs | Is the model eligible for your utility’s rebate or demand-response program? Terms vary by utility and location. |
| Privacy and accounts | Does operation require an online account, location data or cloud connectivity? Can basic heating continue if the internet is unavailable? |
| Installation | Can you identify every wire and the furnace or boiler terminals, or should a qualified installer handle the work? |
| Total cost | Include installation and any required adapter, then subtract only rebates you have verified with your utility. |
Equipment-specific limits on setbacks
Single-stage gas furnaces and boilers
Many conventional gas systems can follow a timed setback and recover normally. Watch for long recovery periods, repeated starts and rooms that remain cold. If the system runs continuously without reaching the occupied setting, reduce the setback, move recovery earlier or have the equipment checked rather than continuing to lower the target.
Multispeed and modulating equipment
DOE smart-thermostat benchmarking research warns that higher-efficiency multispeed equipment may maintain comfort efficiently at low capacity, while setback recovery can call for a high-capacity, lower-efficiency mode. A deeper setback can therefore create a large recovery demand that offsets some expected savings. Use the manufacturer’s recovery guidance and compare runtime and comfort at modest versus deeper setbacks.
Heat pumps and dual-fuel systems
A heat pump may respond differently from a gas furnace, particularly in cold weather or when auxiliary heat is available. If your home uses a heat pump, dual-fuel controls or a modulating furnace, follow the equipment manufacturer’s thermostat recommendations. Use the thermostat’s heat-pump-specific recovery and auxiliary-heat settings, and confirm which fuel is being used during recovery.
Check compatibility before installing
- Turn off power to the heating system at the service switch or breaker before removing the old thermostat.
- Photograph the existing terminals and label each wire by terminal, not by color alone.
- Confirm whether the system is low-voltage and identify the furnace, boiler, heat-pump or dual-fuel model.
- Check the new thermostat’s compatibility list for stages, zones, valves, heat pumps and auxiliary heat.
- Verify C-wire requirements. If no C-wire is available, use only the adapter or power option approved for that thermostat and system.
- After installation, test heating, fan operation, each stage and every zone before relying on an automatic schedule.
Stop and obtain professional help if wiring is unfamiliar, the system uses line voltage, the equipment has proprietary controls, or the thermostat cannot clearly identify the terminals. Incorrect wiring can disable heat or damage controls.
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Make the setback easier to tolerate
Improve air delivery
ENERGY STAR recommends checking filters monthly during heavy-use periods and replacing them at least every three months. A clogged filter can reduce airflow and make recovery slow or uneven. Use the filter size and rating specified for your system; a higher rating is not automatically better if the equipment cannot move enough air.
Service the equipment
Arrange annual heating-system tune-ups according to the manufacturer’s maintenance guidance. Ask the technician to check burners, heat exchangers, controls, airflow and combustion safety on a gas furnace, or the appropriate components on a boiler or heat pump.
Seal ducts and reduce drafts
ENERGY STAR says sealing and insulating ducts can improve HVAC efficiency by as much as 20%. Seal accessible duct leaks, insulate ducts in unconditioned spaces and address obvious drafts around doors, windows and penetrations. More even heat distribution allows a modest setback without making one room uncomfortable.
Measure whether your schedule is working
- Establish a baseline. For several comparable days, record heating runtime, occupied comfort and the temperatures used.
- Change one setting. Test only the setback size, schedule timing or sensor priority—not all three at once.
- Allow enough time. Review multiple heating cycles and, when possible, similar outdoor conditions. A single unusually cold day can dominate runtime.
- Check recovery. Note whether the home reaches the occupied setting before the scheduled time and whether high-capacity or auxiliary heat activates.
- Keep the comfortable option. If a change creates cold rooms, noise, condensation or excessive recovery runtime, return to the previous setting and try a smaller setback or earlier recovery.
ENERGY STAR estimates that homes with high heating and cooling bills or long daily vacancies may save approximately $100 per year with an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat. Actual savings vary, so treat that figure as an estimate for the described homes, not a guaranteed payback.
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The house is still cold at wake-up
Move the recovery period earlier, reduce the setback, check the filter and verify that the thermostat is sensing the intended room. If recovery remains slow, have airflow and equipment capacity inspected.
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- ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat for home that helps you save energy and stay comfortable.Connectivity : Wi-Fi - 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz, 802.11a/n 5 GHz Wi-Fi., Wireless interconnect : Bluetooth Low Energy Please refer to the product description section below for all applicable legal disclaimers.Product note: You can also check your system’s compatibility before purchasing a Nest thermostat with our online Nest Compatibility Checker on the Google Nest support page
- The Nest Thermostat is designed to work without a C wire in most homes, but for some systems, including heating only, cooling only, zone controlled, and heat pump systems, you’ll need a C wire or other compatible power accessory
- Nest Thermostat turns itself down when you leave, so you don’t waste energy heating or cooling an empty home. Lock feature: No
- Programmable thermostat that lets you create an energy efficient schedule in the Google Home app on your Android or iPhone
- Remote control lets family members change the thermostat temperature from anywhere on a phone, laptop, or tablet[1]
One room is uncomfortable
Check registers, dampers, drafts and sensor placement. A room sensor can prioritize the occupied space, but it cannot fix a blocked duct or inadequate insulation.
The system runs hard during recovery
Use a smaller setback and an equipment-specific recovery mode. This is especially important for multispeed, modulating, heat-pump and dual-fuel systems, where a high-capacity recovery can be less efficient.
The thermostat loses power
Recheck the C-wire or approved adapter, the furnace power switch and the control-board connection. Do not bridge terminals or change wiring while power is on.
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Review enrolled phones, location permissions, the geofence boundary and manual overrides. Keep a fixed schedule for household members whose phones are frequently away from home.
What broader adoption could achieve
An EPA and ENERGY STAR factsheet published in 2023 projected that if everyone used an ENERGY STAR certified smart thermostat, annual savings could reach 56 trillion British thermal units and $740 million. That projection describes national potential, not the result for an individual home. For your household, the practical test remains simple: use a comfortable occupied setting, schedule a tolerable setback during genuine unoccupied hours, recover before arrival, and verify the outcome with runtime and comfort records.
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