Thermostats are a vital component of any air conditioning system. Without a thermostat, the air handler will not be able to respond accurately to the cooling requirements for your home. In recent years, we have seen the evolution of digital thermostats that are more accurate and useful, when compared to the earlier models. A digital thermostat is also a far better option than an older style mercury thermostat for three very good reasons.
- Environmentally Friendly:
Mercury is an element that has to be disposed of properly because of its hazardous nature. If a mercury thermostat breaks, the silvery metal contained inside could spill into areas where it could have a toxic effect. This is especially dangerous when children are in the home, as mercury is a fascinating metal that rolls around and invites touching. Exposure to mercury is hazardous, but ingesting it is extremely dangerous. A digital thermometer has no such hazards connected with its use, and it is entirely composed of electronic circuitry. On a wider environmental scale, a digital thermostat will help you to save energy and thus reduce your carbon footprint.
- Saving Money:
In most homes, approximately 50% of the household energy costs are generated by heating and cooling. This means that any changes that you can make to your energy efficiency could lead to more money in your pocket. When you use a traditional mercury thermometer, there are very few opportunities to implement energy savings. You can manually raise and lower the temperature according to the conditions and the current prices of energy, but this is less than ideal. A digital thermometer is programmable, and you can make energy savings all year round by not running the air conditioning when there is no one at home. The timer can accurately reflect the way your family is organized around school, work, and other activities. The cooling can begin shortly before you return to optimize your level of comfort without breaking the bank.
- A Real Time Saver:
When you use a mercury thermometer, there is a lot daily adjustment required to get even a modicum of comfort. Leaving the home means turning the thermostat down and remembering to turn it back up when you return. Inevitably, mistakes occur, and the comfort levels in the home become compromised. A digital thermostat can be programmed in advance; this makes it impossible to set the wrong temperature or forget to turn the system on. All of the thought and planning is front loaded, once the system is set, you should be fine until you enter a different cooling or heating season.
You can go into as much or as little detail as you would like. A simple 24 hour timing system can be used to set a simple schedule that is followed each day. This is a great option for technophobes that don’t like programming devices. For those that would like to delve a little deeper, more complex devices can be programmed to account for weekends and other low or high demand usage. Some systems even allow you to program them using an internet connection or smartphone app for additional flexibility. Once you get into programming your system and enjoy the costs benefits of low energy usage, it can become quite addictive.