How to Tell if Your Home Thermostat is Going BadYour home thermostat detects your home’s temperature and compares it to your family’s desired temperature level. This way, if your room temperature is too high or too low, relative to the desired temperature setting, your thermostat will request more air conditioning or heat as appropriate.

If you’re experiencing problems with your home thermostat, try to implement the following strategies:

  • Set the thermostat to 5°F higher or lower than normal settings and see whether the appropriate device comes on.
  • Ensure your thermostat is correctly set to “cool” or “heat” and that the circuit breaker for your air conditioner or furnace is “on.” If there’s no change, there could be a problem.
  • Next, turn off the power to your home heating and cooling system by switching the appropriate circuit breaker “off.”
  • Take the thermostat cover off with a gentle prying by hand.
  • Then, check the wires on the thermostat ensuring that each one is firmly attached to the appropriate mounting screw. It there are any loose wires, reattach them and tighten with a mounting screw.
  • Turn the circuit breaker “on” and see whether the system runs when you repeat step one. If there’s still no change, turn the system power “off” again.
  • Study the wires you see inside your thermostat and pick them depending on the problem at hand. Select the red and white wires if you’re having a furnace problem. For air conditioning problems, pick the red and green wires. Red is the power supply line and is therefore standard for both applications.
  • Carefully unscrew the pair of wires chosen using a mounting screw, take them out of their terminals, and then wrap them together.
  • Finally, switch “on” the power supply. The blower and burner will turn on if the thermostat is bad.

Around the Clock Air Conditioning & Heating is a BBB Accredited and NATE-certified HVAC company that has been serving Los Angeles since 1967. Contact us today, and let us help you troubleshoot your home thermostat.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about thermostats and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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