Did you know that you might be hurting your thermostat without even knowing? Here are some of the mistakes given by furnace service that you might be making:

Leaving heat-generating appliances near your thermostat

If you turn on your heating system and don’t feel any warmer, your insulation may not be the problem. Your thermostat may be too close to a heat source, leading it to turn off prematurely before warming the remainder of your home.

To keep it in top working condition, keep it away from heat vents and other appliances. This way, you protect it from damage, and at the same time, you ensure that you get the most accurate readings.

While many people keep their thermostats out of the way, you should avoid installing them in rarely used areas. Your corridor is most likely not the same temperature as often used rooms, therefore, setting your thermostat there may cause these rooms to become overly hot or too cool owing to inaccurate readings.

Install your thermostat in an area that you use regularly to get accurate temperature readings. You should also set your thermostat on an interior wall that is not blocked by household items.

This will ensure free air movement around your thermostat, allowing sensors to reliably monitor temperatures and activate your heating and cooling systems as needed.

Install a smart thermostat to maximize comfort and energy efficiency by learning your schedule and preferences.

Setting the thermostat too high or too low

When adjusting your thermostat settings, it is easy to set it too high or too low without realizing it. As you can tell, this leads to problems.

While turning up the heat to 75 degrees is tempting, it causes temperature swings and wastes electricity. To conserve money and stay comfortable at home, keep the temperature between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Failing to change the settings when you go out

Although it is convenient to set your heating to turn on right before you return from a long day out in the cold, it is critical to turn off your heating when you are gone all day.

Adjusting according to your schedule is often more energy-efficient. For example, you should reduce the thermostat while sleeping or away from home and raise it while awake or returning to the house, which can result in cost savings and improved energy efficiency.

Invest in a smart thermostat to have an easy time making the adjustments. Programmable or smart thermostats allow pre-set schedules, making it easier to alter temperatures to fit the family’s demands while saving on heating or cooling costs when not required.

Turning up the thermostat to warm the house faster

Turning up the thermostat will not help you heat your home more quickly.

Adjusting the thermostat to heat a space will not speed up reaching the desired temperature.

The thermostat aims to signal the HVAC system to run until the desired temperature is reached. Whether you raise or reduce the temperature setting does not affect how quickly the system heats or cools the room; it only impacts how long the system takes to reach the desired temperature, which costs you more than keeping the temperature slightly lower for longer.

When you are too cold, the best way to deal with the cold isn’t to increase the thermostat settings abruptly. Instead, you should set the thermostat to raise the temperature slowly.

If you are tired of coming to a cold house, invest in a programmable thermostat to set your desired temperature according to your schedule.

This way, the thermostat can start working when you leave for your home so that you come to a warm, toasty room.

Failing to maintain the thermostat

When preparing a home for cold weather, you should check in with your thermostat and maintain it to verify it functions properly.

You should note that ignoring routine thermostat maintenance might result in erroneous temperature readings and inefficient operation. You don’t want this, do you?

Some of the ways to keep your thermostat in top condition include:

Test the thermometer

The only way to get your home’s temperature exactly right is to ensure that the thermostat’s thermometer is accurate.

Before the heating season begins every autumn, conduct this simple test: Tape a household thermometer (that you know is accurate) to the wall near the thermostat. Allow the thermometer about 15 minutes to settle on a temperature reading, then compare it to the thermostat’s.

If the difference between the two is greater than five degrees, reset your thermostat.

Tune the thermostat

To tune the thermostat, you must first gain access to its internal components. Start by removing the cover. Then, if necessary, unscrew the base plate containing the unit’s operating components.

Your thermostat’s thermometer is often a bimetallic coil whose components expand and contract at different rates when heated or cooled. The flexing of the coil activates a switch (usually a mercury-filled glass bulb) that toggles the system on and off.

Recalibrating the thermometer often entails rotating the coil’s adjustment screw or nut with a small screwdriver or needle-nose pliers. If you have any manufacturer instructions, double-check them.

Adjust the anticipator

A thermostat’s heat anticipator instructs it to turn off the furnace or boiler slightly earlier, allowing residual heat to maintain the appropriate room temperature.

If your heating system turns on and off too frequently (or not often enough), a few pokes at the anticipator should fix the problem.

You should access the thermostat’s interior and move the anticipator pointer toward a higher setting on its scale if the system is cycling too frequently. You should modify it in the opposite direction if it isn’t cycling enough.

Parting shot

These are some of the mistakes you might be making with your thermostat without even knowing. As mentioned, you should invest in a smart thermostat. You also should take good care of your unit by tuning it regularly.

You can do the work yourself, but let an experienced furnace repair service Port Jefferson handle it for the best results.