How Do You Know if Your Home Thermostat is Bad

How Do You Know if Your Home Thermostat is Bad

Owning a thermostat gives you greater control of the temperature of your home. After using it for some time, you should know how to tell if thermostat is aging non-functional. “How do you know if your house thermostat is bad?” A thermostat going bad is known to show bad home thermostat symptoms such as no change in temperature even when the thermostat is turned on, malfunctioning air conditioner and/or heater, and different temperatures inside the property even when there are no zones in your home. Knowing these things will let you know when to fix or when to replace home thermostat. Before moving forward, it is always recommended for a certified HVAC professional to diagnose and resolve the issue.

Checking Thermostat Malfunction Issues

How do you know if your thermostat in your house is bad? First, analyze if the unit is either broken or requires new batteries by checking if the display remains the same and the temperature doesn’t change even when you made adjustments to the temperature. If new batteries are used and nothing has changed, then the thermostat itself is the problem.

Another way is by checking your air conditioner and heater. If they are switched “ON” but nothing happens, it could a blocked electricity flow due to faulty wires. Also, check if the air conditioner and heater don’t get switched “OFF” despite using automatic settings. There are two possible root causes: one is because of faulty wires, and another is a miscalibrated thermostat that causes a wrong gauge in temperature.

The last way of checking for a thermostat malfunction can be tricky, which is why it’s always best to consult a HVAC professional. If your home has many zones that require different temperature settings, it isn’t surprising to find different temperatures. If no zones were set but you still experience this, then it means that a broken thermostat causes a mismatch in settings and temperature.

Changing Settings and Checking the Thermostat

How Do You Know if Your Home Thermostat is Bad

Once you have identified the thermostat malfunction issues, it’s now time to do basic troubleshooting on your own if you are deciding not to consult or hire a local pro. First, take note of the thermostat setting. In the cold season, the heat setting should be activated, and the cold setting during the hot season. Also activating the automatic mode will make sure to save energy, as the air conditioner and heater aren’t switched on continuously.

Another way to help is by adjusting the thermostat setting for about five degrees. This means that in the cold season the temperature should be up to five degrees than the usual setting, and lower than five degrees in the hot season.

Digital thermostats require the batteries to be replaced yearly. Do home thermostats wear out? Yes, they do, especially for analog thermostats that require cleaning to prevent dust particles from accumulating inside the equipment.

How to Clean a Thermostat?

You clean a thermostat by removing the cover and using cloth or a fine bristle brush to clean the inside. As you do so, you can also check the wires if they are adjoined to their mounting screws. You can check the wires on your own but make sure to call an HVAC professional to adjust any live connection safely.

How Do You Know If Your Thermostat Is Bad?
How Do You Know If Your Thermostat Is Bad?

Knowing how to tell if your home thermostat is bad, as well as knowing how long do thermostats last, is important so you’ll know what course of action to take. If all these things are done and you still encounter malfunction issues, you might consider replacing the thermostat. “Do I need a new thermostat?” Remember that thermostats can last up to 10 years and will only need to be replaced if basic troubleshooting and cleaning won’t do the trick. Remember that if you are replacing a thermostat to have a HVAC professional look at the A/C refrigerant to ensure optimal cooling. Here are 5 other reasons why the thermostat is not working or reaching set temperatures.