xrongor wrote:
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

The oops factor saved me money with the programmable thermostat,
especially since I live along and I use the time of use plan with my
electric company.

When I run it manually, I like being able to know what I actually set
the AC for 78. With the analog dial or slider, I didn't know exactly
where I set it. Back in apartment life, I would put a piece of tape over
the the indicator and mark the tape where my preferred set points where.
--Mike