Homeowners program VCRs to record a show when they're not home. And now, they can program thermostats to raise or lower the temperature when they're not home, thereby saving energy while still maintaining the standard of comfort they desire.

What's making all this possible are electronic programmable thermostats that can change the temperature of a home up to four times a day. With these easy-to-use "smart" thermostats, you simply pick the temperature settings that you want, and the thermostat takes over the job of keeping you comfortable.