Boehmer Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Thermostats’

Maximizing Your Home’s Energy Efficiency with a Smart Thermostat

Monday, February 13th, 2023

All you have to do to see how far we’ve come with thermostat technology is to try and use a slider thermostat–they’re extremely frustrating. In stark contrast, new thermostat systems offer perks that our parents or grandparents likely never dreamed were possible.

The benefits that newer thermostats come with don’t just make them interesting to have. These perks make them beneficial to your home comfort and your overall home efficiency. We’ll go over the benefits you’ll enjoy when you upgrade your thermostat and how to tell that an upgrade is something to add to your to-do list.

Tags: Heating, HVAC, Thermostats
Posted in Home Energy Solutions, HVAC | Comments Off on Maximizing Your Home’s Energy Efficiency with a Smart Thermostat

Thermostat Habits that Raise Your Bills

Monday, August 14th, 2017

Many people don’t give a second thought to how they set the thermostat. After owning a central air conditioner and heater for several years, how you set the thermostat becomes second nature. When it’s hot, you walk over to the thermostat and adjust the settings, and if you’re worried about your bills, you may raise the temperature.

It turns out that some of the most seemingly harmless thermostat habits can raise our bills quite a bit. In fact, even when we think we set the thermostat to help save money, we may actually do the opposite. Find out what habits you should consider changing below. Call our expert technicians to learn from the best!

Tags: Air Conditioning, Heating, Programmable Thermostats, Thermostats, Upper St Clair
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Thermostat Habits that Raise Your Bills

Benefits of Replacing Your Thermostat

Monday, April 27th, 2015

Spring is here, which offers homeowners a chance to examine their heating and cooling system between the snows of winter and the heat of summer. Nowhere is that more important than your thermostat, which controls all aspects of your HVAC system. A malfunctioning thermostat needs to be replaced quickly: here in Pittsburgh, PA, weather is usually too hot or too cold to go without it. But even if it’s working just fine, the benefits of replacing your thermostat are hard to ignore. Here’s a brief list of some of the things a new thermostat can bring you.

Tags: Air Conditioning, Pittsburgh, Thermostats
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Benefits of Replacing Your Thermostat

A Tip from Verona: Where to Place a Thermostat for Accurate Heating

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

It’s easy to forget with your furnace in the basement churning away all day to keep your Verona home warm, but your thermostat is the single most important device in ensuring your home is heated to the temperature you want. If it stops working or it misreads the temperature inside your home, your furnace won’t know what temperature it actually is and will turn on and off at the wrong time.

Where Not to Place Your Thermostat

To avoid inaccurate readings, avoid placing your thermostat in the following locations:

Direct Sunlight – Direct sunlight will almost always increase the perceived temperature of the thermostat. Unless you live in a greenhouse, this will be very uncomfortable for everyone in your home.
Windows – Windows can result in direct sunlight and breezes. If the windows are not properly sealed, cold air can blow in and make it seem cooler in your home than it really is. In any of these cases, your thermostat will misread the indoor temperature.
Drafts – Drafts from improperly sealed doors, windows, or anything else in your home can negatively impact the thermostat.
Heat Vents – Don’t place your thermostat near a radiator or heat vent where it is likely to be warmer than anywhere else in the house.
Kitchens – Kitchens tend to be warmer than other rooms in the house, especially when in use. Avoid placing a thermostat here unless you have a zone control system and your kitchen is separate from other rooms.

A properly placed thermostat will ensure your home is heated or cooled to the temperature you desire regardless of outdoor conditions. If you’re unsure whether your thermostat is calibrated properly, check the temperature with a separate thermometer in a different location in the same room. If it is significantly warmer or cooler in one place than another, try to determine which is more indicative of the actual comfort level in your home. When properly located, your thermostat should never be an issue again.

Tags: Braddock, Heating, Oakmont, Thermostats, Verona, Westmoreland County
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on A Tip from Verona: Where to Place a Thermostat for Accurate Heating

How to Replace a Thermostat: A Guide from Washington

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

There are a lot of common household tasks that do-it-yourselfers in Washington can handle beyond changing light bulbs or replacing a fuse. One of those is changing out a thermostat. The reasons for replacing a thermostat can vary from making an upgrade to changing out a thermostat that is not working right – or at all. Whatever the reason, the task is pretty simple and require s very little time and very few tools.

Let’s set the stage.

The materials you will need are the replacement thermostat, wire connectors, electrical tape (optional), needle nose pliers, and a screwdriver.

Here are the steps:

Turn off electrical power to the existing thermostat. You can do this by flipping a breaker switch or removing a fuse from your home’s electrical panel. This would be a good time to make a note of the circuit’s location, writing the circuit number on the panel door or using a sticker.
Remove the cover from the existing unit. You should be able to locate the screws that hold it to the wall mounting plate. Remove the screws and pull the unit away from the wall and mounting plate. Be careful not to touch the electrical wires together on the thermostat.
Disconnect the wiring. Carefully remove the electrical wiring from the unit and keep the wires apart. You might want to tape the bare ends and also ensure that the wires don’t fall back through the wall. If the wires are not color coded, mark each one and which terminal they were removed from. Remove the mounting plate.
If you are using a new mounting plate, make sure it fits over the existing hole and then pull the wires through the opening of the plate. Make sure the mounting plate is secured to the wall with the proper screws.
Now match the wires to the terminals on the new thermostat. The wires are usually color-coded but if not, make sure you attach the right wires to the corresponding numbered terminals on the next thermostat. A green wire, which operates the furnace fan blower, is connected to the “G” terminal. The white wire operates the heater and attaches to the “W” terminal. The yellow wire operates the air conditioner and connects to the “Y” terminal. Use a wire nut to secure the wires and keep them apart from other wires. Ignore any other wires coming out of the wall as they are not necessary and may have been added by the original builder for other purposes.
Carefully move the wires back into the wall as you line up the new thermostat on the mounting bracket. Install the new bracket and secure the thermostat to the bracket.
Turn your power back on and check your thermostat by setting the temperature high or low, to engage the furnace or air conditioner.

This simple procedure can be done in less than 10 minutes. But if you have any doubts and want greater peace of mind, call a professional heating and cooling contractor to perform the installation.

Tags: Cranberry, Glenshaw, Heating, Thermostat Replacement, Thermostats, Washington, Westmoreland County
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on How to Replace a Thermostat: A Guide from Washington

How to Maximize Savings in Your Home

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

When you are thinking about different ways you might be able to save money around the house, the tendency is to think big. Maybe you need to upgrade to a more energy efficient furnace, or it could be time to install a new central air conditioning system. Maybe it is even a good idea to switch to solar or geothermal power.

But before you do any of that, you may want to try some quick and easy ways to save money around the house with the equipment you already have. Here are 10 great ways to cut your power usage and keep those energy bills down without investing a lot in new equipment.

Seal Up Your House – No matter how energy efficient the heating and cooling systems are in your house, you will be using more energy than necessary if your house is not tightly sealed. Make sure there are not cracks or places where drafts can get in and you will start saving money right away.
The Right Thermostat Setting – Are you really going to notice the difference between 72°F and 69°F? Probably not, but you will save about 3% off of your monthly heating bill for every degree you turn the thermostat down. The same goes in the summer too, just backwards.
Programmable Thermostats – And while we are on the subject of thermostats, it is a good idea to invest in a new one with programmable settings. That way you will be able to set your house to be warm when you will be there and you do not have to pay to keep it warm all day long if it is empty.
Water Heater Temperature – Most hot water heaters are set to about 140°F. However, you really only need your water to be at 120°F. So turn down the hot water heater and you will save a lot.
Ceiling Fans – Ceiling fans can help keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Plus, they cost very little to run so they are a great investment.
Light Bulbs – Switching to energy efficient fluorescent bulbs all over your house will save you a ton even though they cost a bit more to begin with.
Lights Out – But energy efficient bulbs will only get you so far. You should also be sure to turn off the lights in any room you are not using.
Insulation – Proper insulation will go a long way towards keeping in the temperature controlled air that you want and keeping out the outdoor air that you do not.
Power Strips – Many home appliances draw a small amount of power even when they are not turned on. Use a power strip to easily cut the power to them completely and eliminate that drain.
Sealing Windows – Plenty of air can come and go through your windows as well. Upgrading to more energy efficient windows is certainly an option, but you can also help to seal up your home inexpensively by covering your windows with plastic.

Tags: Ceiling Fans, Elizabeth, Finleyville, Fox Chapel, insulation, Thermostats, Windows
Posted in Home Savings | Comments Off on How to Maximize Savings in Your Home

New Thermostats – Are they Worth the Investment?

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

When you are trying to save money around the house, a new thermostat is definitely worth looking into. Sure, your old thermostat works fine. But there are a lot of features available on newer models that can help you save money on your heating and cooling costs throughout the year.

And you do not need to wait until it is time to replace your home comfort system to upgrade your thermostat. Most thermostats can work with many different types of heating and cooling systems. So no matter what type of HVAC system you have or how old it is, you should be able to integrate some type of new thermostat into it.

But how can a new thermostat save you money? Well, they simply offer a lot of features that you can use to your advantage. For instance, even the most basic programmable thermostat can let you set different temperatures for different times of day. You can program the thermostat to turn the heat down during the day when no one is home and then you can have the heat switch back on just before you get home.

That way, you can come home to a nice, warm house without having to pay to heat it all day long when it is empty. Many newer thermostats also are more accurate and can provide more pinpoint control of your heating and cooling system. That means that you will not be wasting money because your heating system gets the actual temperature in your house up to 75°F when you only really need it to hit 72°F.

Newer thermostats help you to save money in a variety of ways, and that savings will more than pay for the cost of having a new thermostat installed. That is because thermostats are actually quite cheap and easy to install. A relatively basic programmable thermostat should not run you more than $100, and even if you opt for one of the more advanced systems out there, you will not pay more than a few hundred dollars.

That is a small price to pay considering the increased comfort possible with a state of the art thermostat and the potential for savings every month on your heating or cooling bills. Plus, you likely paid a considerable amount to have that state of the art HVAC system put in. It is worth paying just a bit more so that you can get the most possible out of it.

Tags: Allegheny County, Homestead, Mt Lebanon, Thermostats
Posted in Home Savings | Comments Off on New Thermostats – Are they Worth the Investment?

Boehmer Heating & Cooling Blog