If you are replacing an older thermostat you may find there are lots of choices in today’s market. Find out how to choose just the right thermostat for your home.
The climate in New Orleans can be rather warm throughout the year, so your home’s climate control system is very important to your health and comfort. Temperatures can also change drastically from time to time during the month, as they do during spring when the temperature can fluctuate as much as 40 degrees in a 24 hour period!
Your home’s A/C unit does more than just keep your home comfortable in the warmer months. It also works as an air circulation unit and air quality control unit. Your A/C unit helps to improve the quality of the air you breathe and controls harmful air particulates such as pollen, dust and smoke particles. The thermostat that you choose will play a vital role in how well your A/C unit operates, how comfortable the climate inside of your home will be and how much money you will have to spend on energy bills each month.
What Exactly Does a Thermostat Do?
An a/c thermostat is an automatic switch that regulates your home’s climate control system, either changing the temperature settings or turning the entire system on or off. Thermostats are temperature sensitive devices, meaning the home’s temperature will decide if the device turns your A/C unit on or off. Once the temperature in your house reaches a pre-set limit, and the thermometer within the thermostat reads this temperature, it will react by either engaging the A/C or disengaging it.
Types of Thermostats
There are many different types of thermostats to choose from, including units that are both functional and highly efficient. Electric thermostats are very easy to read and operate. Thermostats can also be manually operated or programed to operate automatically. Both of these functions have their own specific purposes:
- Manual thermostats allow you to specifically set a certain temperature right that moment in order to reach a desired temperature setting within the home.
- Programmable thermostats can be programmed to automatically reach a specific temperature setting. When the temperature drops below or rises above the specified temperature, the thermostat will automatically make the appropriate adjustments.
- Most thermostats that are available today will have both automatic and manual settings.
Modern thermostats are also available in wireless models, so you can set a desired temperature or make temperature adjustments from across the room. Most thermostats are also digital, which makes them more accurate and easier to use. Older thermostats use spinning dials, which were only slightly harder to read than the newer digital models. You can choose any type of thermostat you want. Most are universally compatible with a number of different heating and cooling units, so learning how to operate them is easy.
Choosing a New Thermostat
To start the process of choosing a new thermostat you should first determine which type of thermostat you would prefer, a manual one or a programmable one. Manual thermostats are usually a little bit cheaper. Programmable thermostats are more expensive initially, but they can provide significant energy savings that will save you money on energy bills over the long run.
Once you have decided on a type of thermostat the next step is to make sure that it is compatible with your home’s heating and cooling system, which it most likely is. Once you have made sure that your potential thermostat is compatible with your home’s heating and cooling system you can check out the various options and special features each type of thermostat offers, so you can pick the options that best suit your home’s requirements.
Choosing a new thermostat can be a quick, easy and fun process, as long as you know what you are looking for. Please call us today if you have any questions and one of our heating and cooling specialists will be happy to help you choose a new thermostat.
