Thermostats are an essential piece of your heating and cooling system. First, it’s one of the only parts of your home comfort system that you interact with daily. But also, your thermostat is the brain of your air conditioner and furnace. The HVAC unit in your Los Angeles home would not be able to function without the electronic signals from a thermostat.
Thermostats contain a sensor that can identify the temperature of the air. Then, the thermostat compares the temperature setting – the setpoint that you decide – to the air temperature. If the air temperature is too far away from the temperature setting, the thermostat will send a signal to the heater or air conditioner to turn on. Once the temperature in the space is closer to the desired setpoint, the thermostat sends a signal telling the HVAC system to turn off.
Nowadays, thermostats have evolved to include many more features. There is a variety to choose from!
Walk into any home improvement store in LA, and you’ll see a variety of thermostats on display. Thermostats fall into one of a few categories:
Contact – A manual thermostat is the most simple of the bunch. If you have a thermostat that contains mercury or only has printed numbers and labels, then you have a basic contact thermostat. This device sends simple on and off signals to your heater and air conditioner.
Digital – A digital thermostat is very similar to a contact thermostat. The main difference is that there is a digital display on the device. Instead of a dial or slider to set the temperature setpoint, there are usually buttons to move the setpoint up and down. Sometimes, a digital thermostat will display other information, like the current temperature in the space.
Programmable – A programmable thermostat allows the homeowner to set a schedule for the heating and cooling system. For example, if you are at work Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, you can set a programmable thermostat to change the temperature automatically at those times.
Smart – A smart or connected thermostat is typically one that is connected to the internet via WiFi. With a smart thermostat, you do not need to be standing in your hallway to change settings. You can monitor and adjust your home’s temperature from anywhere in the world – from your living room to your vacation home.
Wireless – Some smart thermostats are wireless , which means there is no physical connection between the thermostat and the heating and cooling equipment. A significant benefit to a wireless thermostat is that it can mount to any wall in your home. That can be helpful if your thermostat is currently near kids’ bedrooms, or if a renovation has left your thermostat’s previous home in the dust.
In the last decade, the heating and cooling industry has seen a wave of innovation in thermostats. It all started when homeowners became aware of exactly how much energy air conditioning and heating units use. According to the US EIA, space cooling and heating accounts for more than 30% of the energy consumed in the average California household.
It turns out that most LA residents had a “set it and forget it” approach to home comfort. Homeowners set the thermostat to one temperature and never changed it. But that means that your air conditioner and furnace are working hard even when you aren’t home. That’s a waste of money and energy resources.
Now, homeowners are making the transition from manual to electronic programmable thermostats , saving on utility bills, and conserving energy.
Serving the Los Angeles area for 75 years, the award-winning team at Brody Pennell is the right choice for your thermostat needs.
If you are thinking about replacing your old manual thermostat with a modern smart thermostat , allow us to recommend a thermostat that meets your needs. Plus, we will install the device so that it works perfectly with your existing equipment. Our team will show you how it works and make sure you feel comfortable operating it.
Are you having problems with your thermostat? We’ll come to the rescue. Brody Pennell can troubleshoot thermostat connection problems and errors. A quick visit by one of our NATE-certified technicians will put the issue to rest.
Call us today at (310) 896-4911 to schedule an appointment and get the temperature in your LA home or business under control.
Our team can service, troubleshoot, and install any brand thermostat including Honeywell and Nest. But the thermostat line we recommend is the Carrier ecobee thermostat. Carrier-brand products are of high quality and backed by years of research and development. The ecobee Smart Thermostats, Powered by Carrier, can tailor themselves to your schedule, your personal comfort preferences and the weather outside. They can also provide details on savings each month and insight into your heating and cooling equipment performance.
