Thermostat Placement and Settings That Make a Real Difference
A thermostat is a small box that makes big decisions. If it’s in the wrong spot or set up wrong, the furnace and AC can be perfectly healthy and the house still won’t feel right. Here’s what we look at in Vaughan homes.
Placement
The thermostat should be on an interior wall in a room you actually use, about 1.5 metres off the floor. Bad spots we see often:
- Next to a window or a sunny patio door.
- Near the kitchen, a fireplace, or a TV.
- Right across from a supply register.
- On a wall with an unsealed hole behind it, so it reads drafts from inside the wall.
That last one is a sneaky one. Pull the thermostat off its base and check that the wire hole is sealed.
Is it reading correctly?
Put a reliable thermometer next to the thermostat for 15 minutes. If they’re more than a degree or so apart, many thermostats let you set a temperature offset in the settings menu.
Fan setting
“Auto” runs the fan only when heating or cooling. “On” runs it constantly, which evens out temperatures and keeps air moving through the filter but can re-evaporate moisture from the AC coil in humid weather. Many newer thermostats have a “circulate” mode that’s a good middle ground.
System type settings
Thermostats need to know what they’re controlling. A two-stage furnace set up as single-stage never uses its quieter low stage. A heat pump set up wrong can call for backup heat when it doesn’t need it, which is expensive. When we install a thermostat, we set the equipment type, stages, and cycle rates to match.
Smart thermostats
Scheduling and remote control are handy, and remote sensors help in homes where one floor runs warmer than the other. Our thermostat myths post covers what they can and can’t do.
For a thermostat upgrade or setup check, see our smart thermostat services or contact us at 647-657-2977. We’re based in Vaughan.
