Air conditioner Fixing
Many times, a malfunctioning or broken thermostat masquerades itself as a faulty furnace. Before assuming that you have an expensive HVAC problem to deal with, first take a look at your thermostat.
In our last blog post, we talked about 5 Furnace Troubleshooting Tips that can help you solve some of the most common heating problems. On the list, we talked about having your thermostat cleaned, set to “heat, ” and changing its batteries, but we didn’t go very much into detail.
Sometimes, your thermostat needs a little more attention. What you think is a broken thermostat may just be a neglected one.But sometimes, you may just have to break down and buy a new thermostat because of aging, faulty wiring, an old transformer, or other issues. In this case, we highly recommend investing in and learning to use a programmable thermostat.
You may also be interested in the new, high-tech “smart” thermostats, which claim to learn your habits and automatically adjust the temperature as needed. If you do end up replacing your thermostat, do not throw your old, broken thermostat in the trash, especially if it has mercury in it. Find a way to properly dispose of it or give Cassel Home Comfort a call!
Before you do anything, check to see if your HVAC system has power. You don’t want to be that guy. Go over to your breaker panel and make sure your HVAC system is getting power. The next step is checking to see if your thermostat has power:
1. Change the Batteries
This is definitely the first thing you will want to check before moving on to the more complicated stuff. All thermostats are different, with some requiring battery changes and others not needing batteries at all. For wireless systems, use AA Lithium batteries instead of the weaker regular ones. Watch this video to figure out which kind of thermostat you have and how you can change its batteries:
2. A Good Dusting
Another simple fix, usually for older electromechanical thermostats, is a simple dusting with a small paintbrush, or other soft brush. Now that you know how to open up your thermostat’s housing from the video above, you can now open it up for some light cleaning. Dust and dirt are often the cause for inaccurate temperature readings and other problems. Lightly dust the inside of your thermostat, including the metal coils and contact plates. If you brush can’t fit in between the contact plates, try sliding a soft paper back and forth to clean them.
