HVAC 101: Thermostats

April 5, 2021 | Blog

When it comes to your HVAC system, there are a lot of pieces and parts that work together to make heating and cooling possible. It’s not just the AC unit or the ducts that determine if conditioned air reaches your home. Your thermostat is like the brain of the AC system, and understanding how it works can do wonders for your comfort and energy efficiency.

CCAC is here to help you become more informed about your home and feel confident that you are doing everything in your power to ensure your air conditioning is running properly. Read on to find out the basics of thermostats!

How Do Thermostats Work?

Thermostats in older homes or motels still use mercury switches to control the heating and cooling process, but modern thermostats have seen an upgrade.

Inside the thermostat on your wall, there is a piece of coiled metal called a bimetallic strip. This piece is made of two different metals fused together. Each of the two metals react to heat and cold differently. When the coil feels heat, it begins to expand and unwind, flipping the switch that signals heating or cooling to begin. When it cools down and shrinks the coil, it flips the switch the other way.

Are Programmable Thermostats More Efficient?

Non-digital thermostats are not as popular in the modern day, but why is that? Digital thermostats offer several advantages to you and your home that are important to understand in the scope of your entire air regulation system.

Programmable settings allow you to bypass the need for immediate results from your AC system. For example, when you feel too warm in your home you usually set the thermostat down a couple of degrees and wait for the cooling process to begin. With programmable settings, you can set your AC to heat or cool at certain times of the day according to your habits.

If you know you are gone to work for eight hours a day, but you always get home at six o’clock, you can set your thermostat accordingly. When you are away from home your AC won’t struggle to cool empty space, and when you get home your space will already have started cooling ahead of time. The only downside to this is you’ll have to change your settings as the seasons change.

Smart Thermostats Are Even Smarter

The solution for the programmable thermostat problem is to install a smart thermostat. Not only can these devices be programmed, they are far more intuitive to both your needs and the outdoor conditions. You can easily change settings and access the controls for a smart thermostat – even from an app on your phone!

Either way, all digital thermostats can be used to change the energy consumption of your household significantly. You don’t have to waste energy all day anymore. Simply count on your thermostat to run pre approved cooling and heating cycles when you are home and in need of temperature control.