The furnace thermostat is the nerve center of your home heating system.
It’s the main control point that determines when and how much heat will be delivered by the furnace.
At the most basic level, thermostats are simply temperature-sensitive switches but they have become sophisticated with more features.
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Learn more about types of thermostats and how to choose the right one for your home and needs.
Electric baseboard heaters and in-wall heaters may use line-voltage thermostats that use 120 or 240 volts of electricity.
That’s the job of the bimetallic strip, made of two pieces of metal joined together.
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The two metals expand at different rates at a given temperature, known as the coefficient of expansion.
As one side expands more than the other side, the metal curves one way or the other.
The thermostat contact is like a switch for your lights.
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As the bimetallic strip moves, it either opens or closes the contact.
The ampoule is attached to a coiled bimetallic strip, also called a bimetallic coil.
It is adjustable to allow fine-tuning of when the thermostat turns the furnace blower on and off.
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The bimetallic thermostat has modes for heating and cooling and fan positions for on/off and automatic.
It is not programmable.
Some older versions of mechanical contact thermostats used a straight blade bimetallic strip rather than a coiled strip.
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They are a bit less accurate but work under the same principle.
These thermostats usually have large, easy-to-read displays and are often used toreplace older mechanical thermostats.
Digital thermostats havemodes for heatingand cooling and fan positions for on/off and automatic, but they are not programmable.
Electronic Programmable Thermostat
The electronicprogrammable thermostatis a digital thermostat with a “brain.”
Some models can even alert you to change your furnace filter.
The latest programmable thermostat is thesmart thermostat, such as the Nest.
These are fully programmable and controlled manually or with a smartphone or other gear.
They are also capable of programming themselves by learning how you typically set the temperature throughout the week.
First, choose whether you want a manual or programmable/smart thermostat.
Second, ensure what you want is compatible with your HVAC system.
The average cost of a thermostat varies dramatically, from $15 to $500 or more.
The cost depends on the throw in and features you choose.
The best key in of thermostat depends on your preferences between manual and programmable or smart models.
In addition, the best thermostat for your home will be compatible with your HVAC system.
However, for energy efficiency, it’s best to consider a programmable thermostat.
Honeywell is a popular brand that makes non-programmable and programmable thermostats, and they make smart thermostats.
Other popular brands for smart thermostats include Nest, Google Nest, Emerson, and Ecobee.
The average cost of installing a new thermostat is about $182.
Very old thermostats had mercury-based sensors.
Note that if you have a thermostat connected to Wi-Fi, the connection could be poor.
Contact Us About Mercury: Recycling Thermostats.EPA.
How Much Does Thermostat Installation or Replacement Cost?HomeAdvisor.
Thermostats (Wall-Mounted Mercury Switch).Zero Waste Sonoma.
