How to Tell if Your Home Thermostat Is Bad

Do you know how to tell if your home thermostat is bad? When thermostats go bad, homeowners have issues with comfort inside their Inland Empire homes. Many, however, assume the problem is with their heating and air equipment. In reality, a malfunctioning thermostat is a possible cause. Sanborn’s Air Conditioning & Heating shares how to tell if your home thermostat is bad and what to do about it.

How to Tell if Your Home Thermostat Is Bad

A malfunctioning thermostat produces some symptoms to tell homeowners it is time for a replacement. Unfortunately, these symptoms often feel like comfort issues, which leads Inland Empire homeowners to think it’s a heating or cooling equipment problem. In fact, your thermostat is a potential cause of these issues, and a thermostat upgrade is often more affordable than an HVAC equipment repair – good news!

If you don’t know how to tell if your home thermostat is bad, review the following list of symptoms a bad thermostat often produces:

1. The thermostat does not turn on: Even with fresh batteries or verified electrical connection, the display does not appear
2. The thermostat is unresponsive to your adjustments: It doesn’t turn on your HVAC systems when you adjust the temperature, or the display doesn’t change when you press buttons
3. Your HVAC system won’t turn on: Defects in the thermostat’s wiring may disrupt the usual signals it sends to your HVAC equipment
4. The HVAC system starts and stops a lot: Calibration may be off which provides improper temperature readings
5. Your HVAC system doesn’t turn off: Wiring problems can disrupt signals to turn off, or the thermostat never gets the message that proper indoor temperatures are reached due to miscalibration
6. Uneven temperatures throughout the house: The thermostat reading doesn’t match the temperature in all areas of the home – some rooms are hotter/colder than others

The Benefits of Thermostat Upgrades

Once you know how to tell if your home thermostat is bad and notice the symptoms, it’s time to install a new thermostat. A thermostat upgrade provides households with many valuable advantages:

• Improved temperature control with precision calibration
• Better energy efficiency with proper control over the HVAC system
• Less wear and tear to HVAC equipment, as it is only signaled to run when needed
• Lower energy bills due to less energy waste
• Gain scheduling capabilities when you upgrade from a manual to a programmable or smart thermostat
• A thermostat with more user-friendly features than outdated models

What to Do Before You Buy a New Thermostat

When it’s time for a thermostat upgrade in your Inland Empire area home, contact your trusted local HVAC contractor. While there are many thermostats available online or at your local hardware store, you need the right model for your home and HVAC system.

Thermostats are not one size fits all. You need a new thermostat compatible with the type of heating and cooling equipment in your home. If you’re upgrading, it makes sense to upgrade comfort and control as well. The right thermostat selection delivers both, but it’s difficult to tell sometimes which model is best for your home.

Sanborn’s Air Conditioning & Heating helps our Inland Empire neighbors select the right thermostat for their needs. We offer a wide range of models, from manual to smart thermostats. We also educate homeowners on the advantages of each for their household’s needs. After all, we want you to get the most value from your new thermostat.

If you have read through our “How to Tell if Your Home Thermostat Is Bad” blog and have noticed any of these signs in your home, call Sanborn’s for new thermostat installation.