It’s one of the oldest battles: the never-ending squabble over the thermostat.

Who gets temperature controlling rights in your home? And do a few degrees really matter when it comes to paying your bill at the end of each month?

Even though it can take a fiery debate for all parties to agree on a degree setting, comfort level isn’t the only consideration to make when picking a temperature inside your home. It turns out, that just a degree or two difference in temperature makes a big difference in your heating or cooling bill.

Raising the thermostat just two to three degrees in the summer can help your wallet. One degree saves two to three percent on energy cooling costs.

Seventy-eight degrees is the ideal temperature to save money, but that’s certainly not ideal for everyone. You can also run fans counterclockwise to make it feel up to five degrees cooler.

There are many other ways to cool your home without touching the thermostat:

• Program your thermostat to turn up the temperature when you are not home.
• Close curtains and blinds during the day.
• Have your air conditioning serviced yearly to ensure it operates efficiently. Use our new Tune-Up incentive to save up to $50 on this service.
• When on vacation, turn up the thermostat even more.
• Make sure the lights you use are LED.
• Consider adding shade screens to your windows.
• Add shade trees to help block the sun’s heat. Plant low water use shade trees in front of south, east or west facing windows to keep sunlight from heating up your home in the summer months.
• Tightly caulk around windows, door frames, sill plates and wherever air might leak through exterior walls, floors or ceiling.
• Reduce the use of your oven, try to microwave instead.
• Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances.
• Change your air filters monthly to improve performance and efficiency of your air conditioning.