Thermostat Problems

With central cooling or heating systems, controlling temperatures at our homes, offices, shopping malls and even car and buses, the relevance of air conditioning systems and their maintenance has grown. Thermostat is one very vital component of all air conditioners, and most of its malfunctioning can be attributed to issues in it.

Thermostat Explained

Have you ever noticed air conditioning systems switching on and off by themselves? If you have a conventional electric oven, you must have observed that heating coils stop heating after some time. Why does this happen and what causes it? It happens because in both the cases mentioned above, there is a manually set temperature, which when attained, a device makes the system to turn off the power supply thereby stopping the flow of heat energy, so that a desired set temperature can be maintained. This device responsible for regulating the temperature is called a thermostat. So now, you can imagine that any problem with thermostat can cause a lot of discomfort. Malfunctioning will mean robbing off the automation aspect from the system. One will have to control the temperature manually, whenever we feel too hot or too cold. So, let's quickly take a look at the problems and troubleshooting for a thermostat.

An Account of Thermostat Problems

First signs of problems with a thermostat include drop in performance of the temperature regulating system, and can make you feel too warm or too cold. Before calling out an A/C repair professional, it can be worthwhile to look at the thermostat yourself first.

Most thermostats used in residential or car A/Cs are powered by 24 volts A.C. and this power is derived from an air handler and heating split system. Such thermostats are known to be equipped with a power stealing technology. In such cases, it is better to first check the circuit breaker meant for the air handler and make sure it is not tripped. It is not uncommon for people to forgo these circuit breakers and that is when they think the thermostat is out of order.

Some thermostats, mostly digital ones, use battery power for their functioning, which takes us to the next step in their troubleshooting. It might be a simple case of the battery getting discharged of or malfunctioning of the battery recharging system. First of all inspect the batteries and replace them if required. Some digital thermostats are designed for AA batteries, or if the back lights function on the thermostat, then they may use AAA batteries. In case you think that the charger has some issues, make sure to check the power switch circuit breaker in the battery charging circuit.

These days most A/C systems are equipped with programmable thermostats. The biggest problem in such devices is their RAM like programming chips, especially if the A/C system is an old one. These thermostat chips lose their programming whenever there is an abrupt power failure. To get rid of this situation, you need to reprogram the chip, but it will meet a similar ending whenever there's another power failure. These days newer programmable thermostats are available which have a ROM like permanent memory which does not perish with a power failure. But, if the old system does not support these new programmable thermostats, the only option is to go for conventional battery powered or the power stealing types.

Next most important factor you need to see is the place of installation. If you have the thermostat mounted on a wall with a high thermal coefficient, then such a device will fail to offer you comfortable temperature, as it will never react to the air temperature in the room. But instead, it will follow the temperature of the wall. Similarly, if they are installed at places where there's direct sunlight or near an outside door or window, you will have the same problem to encounter. Ideally, a thermostat's installation should be close to where the filter is, so that it can sense and react to the temperature in the air handler.

Make sure there is no hole or empty space behind the thermostat. Such a space can will feed cool or warm air currents to its back. If you happen to notice a big hole at the back of the thermostat, you can stuff some insulation in this hole, like cotton gauze, or cover it with a tape. On mechanical (non-digital) thermostats, a heat anticipator is installed which needs to be set in accordance to the current draw on the thermostat circuit. This anticipator on a mechanical thermostat may need periodic manual adjustment with the help of an amp meter to get a proper setting.

These are the major problems which are highly prevalent in air conditioning systems. Even though, temperature control systems have become technologically superior, improper usage and non ideal installation can damage the system and cause troubles.