When you’re a homeowner, the air systems in your home require year-round monitoring for ongoing functionality. No matter the age of your heating system and HVAC, both units have their own checklists for year-round maintenance. However, there’s always the chance that once your family is ready to cool or heat the house, something may not function properly. If that’s the case, it may not be the air system that’s broken down. You may have a faulty thermostat.
Before you worry that you’re on the receiving end of costly furnace or air conditioning repairs, review your options for testing the thermostat’s reliability. With a little research, thermostat replacement might even be a great investment for your home. Here, we will look at what you should do if you have a broken thermostat and your maintenance and replacement options.
Signs of a Faulty Thermostat
There could be many reasons for a home’s thermostat failure, although it’s always best to rule out other causes of your room temperature control malfunctions. While it’s best to know what to do if you have a broken thermostat, you should consider other less-expensive possibilities first. Whether it’s your furnace or your air conditioning system, be sure to inspect your ductwork, vents, and air filters for leaks or blockage. If you’ve had a professional HVAC technician inspect those units and both seem to be working properly, then it’s important to check your thermostat equipment next.
Some of the most common symptoms of thermostat failure can be identical to those of a damaged air system. For example, if your household isn’t heating or cooling according to the stated temperature settings on the thermostat’s display, something is definitely wrong. Likewise, if your digital thermostat’s display is frozen, blank, glitchy, or giving the incorrectly specified temperature, you can rest assured it’s the thermostat unit that requires maintenance.
Possible Thermostat Solutions
As a homeowner, it’s never ideal to have to replace any piece of household equipment. However, malfunctioning thermostat repair or replacement can be significantly more cost-efficient than an HVAC overhaul or a new heater. Even if you can get a great price on a new HVAC system, in the end, a replacement thermostat is still considerably less of an expense. But before you start shopping around, be sure to check the most obvious of places: the thermostat’s batteries! Funny enough, many homeowners will forget to double-check this basic variable when thermostat problems emerge, yet the ongoing issues may actually be solvable with that simple solution.
If you’ve consulted an expert HVAC technician and a replacement thermostat is in order, there are many modern options of modern thermostats to match your needs (as well as your budget). For example, modern thermostats are often digital, which offer homeowners remote control abilities for additional convenience. If your home happens to be equipped with newer technology, such as a heat pump or a similar ductless air system, digital functionality is a perfect modern complement.
In particular, recent years have seen a rise in programmable thermostat, or “smart thermostat,” installations. These units are especially modern and convenient in that the unit can be pre-programmed to your individual family members’ ideal temperature preferences. As the indoor air either cools or warms past the preinstalled comfort levels, a smart thermostat will recognize it and make the needed adjustments automatically.
With this technology installed over your old thermostat, your home will never run the chance of overheating or allowed coolant flow to make your home too cold. Best of all, programmable thermostats are known for their energy efficiency, which not only lowers your monthly energy bills but can greatly increase the property value of your home.
