Is Your Outdated Thermostat Causing HVAC Problems in Hillcrest, CA?

Are you having trouble keeping comfortable during the fall in Hillcrest, CA? If you have an outdated thermostat, it could pose a problem for your HVAC system. Read on for information about what issues outdated thermostats can cause.

The AC or Heat Won't Turn On

Newer thermostats use electronic sensors to take your home's temperature and signal your HVAC system to turn on or off. However, outdated ones use a variety of mechanical thermometers, including mercury and metal conductors. While all thermostats are susceptible to wear and tear, mechanical ones are a little more likely to experience issues as they age.

Eventually, outdated thermostats will become less accurate as a result of this, which can lead to your HVAC system not turning on when it should. Because there are multiple reasons this could happen, you should contact a professional to determine the cause.

Rapid (or Short) Cycling

On a related note, if your thermostat still allows your HVAC system to heat and cool in general, it might cause it to short cycle. This refers to when an HVAC system finishes its cooling or heating cycle too quickly. During normal operation, your HVAC system should turn on and run for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, go dormant for around 10 minutes and then repeat the process until it gets your home to the desired temperature.

When your thermostat reads temperatures inaccurately or gets toward the end of its lifespan and succumbs to wear and tear, as happens often with outdated units, short cycling becomes much more common. While it sounds like faster cycles are better, there's more to your system than just heating or cooling. If the cycles are shorter than they should be, that makes your system use more energy than it should, increasing your energy bills.

Shorter-than-intended cycles also mean that your HVAC system will have trouble regulating the humidity within your home. This can pose a variety of problems, including organic growth within the parts your system needs to function properly, which can even impact your indoor air quality.

The Thermostat Doesn't Match the Room Temperature

Even if the system powers on and heats or cools your home, an outdated thermostat can send the wrong signal to it, resulting in your home reaching the wrong temperature. This could be for a few different reasons, such as:

• Lowered accuracy: Thermostats generally have a lifespan of about 10 years, after which they may become less accurate overall.
• Misleveled unit: Due to the way many older thermostats take your home's temperature, they need to be flush against the wall and leveled properly. If your thermostat is uneven, that can throw the thermometer mechanism off, causing it to misread temperatures.
• Miscalibration: Some older thermostats use a metal coil called an "anticipator," which expands and contracts with changes in temperature to determine the ambient temperature itself. Over time, the anticipator can become misaligned and require calibration if not outright replacement.

Replacing An Outdated Thermostat

An outdated thermostat requires a lot of upkeep and manual adjustment to maintain its mechanical parts in good condition and deal with its inefficient use of energy. Not only is it inconvenient, but repair or replacement of parts can quickly add up.

If you replace a mercury thermostat, do not simply throw it away. You must dispose of it as hazardous waste material or have your HVAC technician dispose of it after replacing it. Not all outdated thermostats use mercury, though, so it might be worth consulting your technician to determine the type of unit it is in the first place.

Whether you need to replace your thermostat or have regular HVAC maintenance from a trustworthy, thorough source in Hillcrest, CA, we want to help. Contact West Coast Heating, Air Conditioning and Solar today for affordable, high-quality HVAC maintenance.

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