it is my educated opinion that digital controllers will have a tighter range
of operation. as you put it, it is more sensitive. digital controllers
typically come on at 1degree below the setting, and turn off at 1 degree
above it (reverse that for ac). the mercury switches in older analog ones
take more than that to activate. because the temp varies more, i think
people have a tendency to set them higher to avoid being chilly during the
low spots (again reverse that for ac). digital ones will turn on and off
more often, but be on for less periods of time maintaining an even
temperature. in the end i dont think a digital controller in and of itself
saves all that much money, but if you get a programmable one i think you can
eliminate much of the 'oops i forgot to turn the heat down' factor.

randy

"ATL" wrote in message
om...
Is there any difference between a digital-programmable thermostat and
the old-fashioned dial thermostat? I am wondering about the
sensitivity of the digital vs. dial. Does anyone have a preference?
If so, why? The reason I ask is that last year I had the dial type,
but replaced it over the winter with a digital. It may be my
imagination, but it just seems that the a/c is kicking on over shorter
intervals than last year.