Ways A Faulty Thermostat Can Lead To HVAC Problems

The thermostat facilitates climate control in your home, alerting you when temperatures change. It allows you to cool your home on a pre-set schedule, helping you adjust temperatures even while you are away. However, if the thermostat fails, it negatively impacts your comfort and utility expenses. Therefore, it is imperative that you contact an HVAC expert for a diagnostic callout to ascertain the issue and fix or replace the thermostat for effective air conditioning. The following are four thermostat issues that can cause HVAC failure:

Wrong Thermostat Positioning

If the thermostat is situated near a heating source or exposed to direct sunlight, it likely detects the temperature of the sun or heater as the room temperature. This results in your HVAC system not heating your home due to erroneous temperature detection. On the other hand, situating the thermostat near a cooling vent or cold surface may inadvertently call for extra heating than your room requires. Thus, you incur higher electricity bills and experience uneven heating as excessive heating in some areas detracts from heating other spaces.

Dirty Thermostat

Dust and debris may hinder the thermostat from correctly gauging the indoor temperature because contaminants in the thermostat prevent the wiring from coming in contact with the terminals. Therefore, you need to employ the services of an HVAC technician to vacuum the grime off the thermostat, ensuring effective temperature detection and electricity transmission. Moreover, the professionals clean the display to make the settings easy to read.

Thermostat Miscalibration

If your thermostat is improperly calibrated, it detects incorrect indoor temperatures, causing it to read your home as degrees hotter or cooler than it is. As a result, the settings are adjusted higher or lower than the optimal point by the same number of degrees. Consequently, if the thermostat's miscalibration is such that it detects temperatures to be higher than they are, your system will fail to turn on unless it is too cold. Conversely, if the component registers temperatures as being lower than they are, the unit may run for extended periods and waste a lot of energy.

Improper DIY Installation

A non-professional or DIY attempt to install your thermostat may lead to electric shock, blowing the circuit breaker, or damaging the thermostat. Furthermore, modern HVAC units have technologically advanced thermostats that require expertise in configuration and wiring. Additionally, most thermostat manufacturers demand proof of professional installation if you want to redeem the thermostat's warranty. Therefore, you should engage an AC repair expert to install your thermostat and help prevent premature failure.

A properly maintained thermostat accurately and effectively regulates the temperatures in your home. Reach out to an HVAC company, such as Alexander Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, CO, INC., if you have any thermostat issues.