{"id":2259,"date":"2018-08-13T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/?p=2259"},"modified":"2018-08-09T07:33:47","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T11:33:47","slug":"thermostat-mistake-costing-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/air-conditioning\/thermostat-mistake-costing-you\/","title":{"rendered":"This Thermostat Mistake Could be Costing You"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2261\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/This-Thermostat-Mistake-Could-be-Costing-You-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Stock image of hand adjusting thermostat\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/This-Thermostat-Mistake-Could-be-Costing-You-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/This-Thermostat-Mistake-Could-be-Costing-You-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/This-Thermostat-Mistake-Could-be-Costing-You.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Summer is an enjoyable time of the year around our area, but the heat can admittedly get a bit tiresome for many, especially indoors! When you\u2019re out enjoying the summer weather all day, the last thing you want to do is come home to a living space that is just as hot\u2014you want a fully efficient and effective air conditioner to great you. This does not, however, mean that you should blast your <a href=\"\/air-conditioning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">air conditioning in Pittsburgh, PA<\/a> as low as the thermostat will go!<\/p>\n<p>Many homeowners result to this as a solution to the heat, but the recommended temperature setting during the summer is 78\u00b0F, according to the Department of Energy. If you keep setting it lower and lower thinking it will help you get cooler faster, you\u2019d be making a mistake. Now, if you\u2019re setting it lower and lower and you do not feel cooler <em>at all, <\/em>then there might be something wrong with your air conditioner, which will get to down below. Read on to learn more!<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>How a Thermostat Operates<\/h2>\n<p>First, we want to clarify how a thermostat actually works, to illustrating that lowering it isn\u2019t a way to get <em>more <\/em>cooling. The thermostat doesn\u2019t operate like a throttle in a car does\u2014we mean, you aren\u2019t pushing down a pedal that forces the AC to \u201cramp up\u201d and produce higher levels of cooling.<\/p>\n<p>A thermostat is actually no more than a switch, connected to complex computer controls, that turns the cooling process \u201con\u201d and \u201coff.\u201d When the indoor temperature registers as higher than the setting on the thermostat, the thermostat turns on the compressor to start cooling the space. When that space is cooling down to the setting, the thermostat then turns off the compressor.<\/p>\n<p>So when you turn down the thermostat to a low setting, you\u2019re requesting that the compressor runs <em>longer <\/em>to reach that temperature. This isn\u2019t a way to make the AC work <em>faster <\/em>at its job, or give you better cooling levels. This is why we advise our customers that it\u2019s unwise to set their thermostats as low as they will go!<\/p>\n<h2>What If Your Thermostat Setting Isn\u2019t the Problem?<\/h2>\n<p>So let\u2019s say you\u2019re setting your thermostat down lower, but you aren\u2019t getting cooler at <em>all, <\/em>which we mentioned above. First off, please don\u2019t set your thermostat down lower to compensate for an air conditioner that can no longer effectively cool down your living space. All this does is puts extra stress on a system that is already malfunctioning. You could end up hastening a complete AC failure.<\/p>\n<p>After checking to ensure that your air filter isn\u2019t clogged and therefore restricting airflow, call in a pro to take a look. Sometimes, the problem <em>is <\/em>actually the thermostat\u2014perhaps the temperature sensors are miscalibrated and the thermostat is shutting the compressor off too soon. You won\u2019t get the cooling you need in this case. However, there are many other possibilities, such as problems with the compressor, the evaporator coil, the blower fan, or even your ductwork. Don\u2019t leave it to chance, call in an trained and experienced HVAC pro!<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boehmer Heating &amp; Cooling<\/a> is your trusted resource for exceptional HVAC tips and services. Call our friendly staff for exceptional customer service.<\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many homeowners result to this as a solution to the heat, but the recommended temperature setting during the summer is 78\u00b0F, according to the Department of Energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,62],"tags":[275,113,329],"class_list":["post-2259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning","category-thermostats","tag-air-conditioning","tag-pittsburgh","tag-thermostat-services"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2259"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2264,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions\/2264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boehmerheating.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}