No doubt, a smart thermostat can make a huge difference in your heating bill. It’ll control and regulate home temperature and help you maintain maximum comfort while keeping your energy costs at a bare minimum. Thermostats are integral to the functioning of the central heating system in your home. There are some common thermostat mistakes people make. Here, we’ve highlighted a few of those mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Cranking the thermostat.
Cranking up a thermostat is a common mistake many people make during the winter months. They put it too high to warm their houses faster. This line of thought is understandable considering the circumstance. It’s understandable that for many people, waiting for the house to warm might not be an option as the temperatures could be freezing.
However, the truth is that it doesn’t make your home heat faster. Worse yet, raising your thermostat too high impacts the energy efficiency of your HVAC system. Moreover, a cranked-up thermostat will only run longer and can cause overheating. So, the best thing to do is to set your programmable thermostat at a moderate level and give it time to heat up.
2. Setting the wrong temperature.
The wrong temperature in the winter months can make your home stuffy and uncomfortable. Nowadays, many people overheat their homes which invariably results in wasted energy. Having a central heating system makes it difficult to control the different HVAC units and balance the temperatures. One notable reason for a thermostat to read wrongly is as a result of the faulty temperature sensor. The best thing to do is to recalibrate the thermostat. If nothing changes after doing that, the temperature sensor is likely defective or malfunctioning.
3. Switching on and off.
Another common mistake is forgetting to change the temperature on their thermostat. If you or your loved ones won’t be at home during the day, avoid shutting off the entire HVAC system. It’s understandable that you want to save energy. However, turning on and off your HVAC system can result in high humidity levels and poor indoor air quality. Just so you know; routinely changing the temperature of your home can lead to energy wastage. The climate control unit in your HVAC system is outfitted to remove allergens and debris. So, switching it off invariably makes the system unable to do its join.
4. Not maintaining the thermostat.
Another thermostat mistake people make isn’t maintaining their thermostat. Aside from maintaining your HVAC system, it would be best if you also carried out maintenance work on your thermostat. You can carry out the maintenance yourself or engage the services of an HVAC technician. Don’t forget to replace the batteries regularly and air filter so that the thermostat remains in top condition.
5. Heating an empty house.
In many ways, a programmable thermostat offers many benefits compared to a traditional one. Programming your smart thermostat for specific times protects the HVAC system from excessive wear and tear. What’s more, this extends the life span of your heating and cooling system. Also, programming your thermostat also ensures your home is energy efficient.
That said, it’s common for people to leave a programmed thermostat on when on vacation, which isn’t so good for the pocket. No doubt, turning it off would make it difficult to get your home warm when you return. However, it makes more sense to turn it off completely, or at least lower the temperature whenever you’re leaving the house.
Better still, you can use setback temperature or energy-saving settings. A typical programmable thermometer has a setback feature that’s used to schedule heat and air. Leaving your heat up can help prevent moisture and biological growth. Thanks to technology, you can use a programmable system to preset the temperature of your home.
