When you think about your heating and cooling system, you probably think about the outdoor units, furnaces, ductwork, and vents.
These are all essential components to create and move conditioned air into your home.
However, your thermostat is also an essential part of your home’s heating and cooling effectively and efficiently.
Even though it is an essential part, most people do not emphasize the thermostats in their homes.
While surprising to hear, improper use of your thermostat can waste energy, stress out your system, and increase the cost of heating and cooling your home.
Programmable Thermostat
One of the biggest and most common mistakes homeowners make is using a traditional thermostat to heat and cool their homes.
Replacing this thermostat with a programmable model offers many benefits.
For example, you can set the thermostat at a preferred temperature for certain times of the day and night, reducing the need to change the temperature frequently.
Programming your temperatures for specific times also protects the system from excessive wear and tear. Prolonging the life span of your system.
Of course, using a programmable thermostat to set temperatures will also help conserve energy.
Not Programing Properly
It would be best to program your thermostat correctly to condition your home in the most energy-efficient manner possible.
If you work outside the home, you can set your temperatures higher/lower on the thermostat during the daytime hours since you will most likely not be home.
Set the heat lower in the colder seasons and the air conditioner’s temperature higher during the warmer seasons. Make sure to adjust the settings for the weekend hours, as well.
If you are not sure which temperature settings are ideal for your family’s comfort, consider adjusting the settings one degree at a time.
Setting The Temperature
Another mistake you are making with your thermostat is believing that it controls how quickly you can heat or cool your home.
For example, you may walk into a cold home and increase the thermostat’s temperature to heat the house quickly.
Unfortunately, this only sets the temperature higher. It does not help the system heat your home faster.
Turning the temperature down when you need air conditioning will not help cool the home any faster, either.
Once the temperature is adjusted, the system still needs time to condition the air to your desired setting.
Maintaining The Thermostat
Your heating and cooling system needs a fair amount of maintenance to ensure it is working effectively. Considering it is a vital part of your heating and cooling system, the thermostat needs to be maintained too.
If your home loses power, you will want to make sure your thermostat still operates. Thankfully, most thermostats have battery backups. Make sure to replace the batteries, whether your home has lost power recently or not, once a year.
The location of your programmable thermostat also matters.
Furniture should not block or make contact with the thermostat because this could affect its ability to read temperatures accurately.
Understanding how to use a thermostat is vital for proper heating and cooling.
Keeping you comfortable is our goal – call us for details. We can service your needs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
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