Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Thermostats’

Should I Upgrade My Thermostat?

Monday, December 21st, 2015

With the coldest weather of the year still ahead of us, you may be thinking forward to the overall performance quality of your heating system. If you want to get a more efficient and effective performance from your system this year than you did last winter, know that you don’t have to completely replace your heating system. You may be able to enjoy a superior performance from the same equipment simply by upgrading your thermostat in Cottonwood Heights, UT. If you think that investing in a new thermostat may be on your agenda this year, contact the professionals on our staff to schedule service. Design Comfort is happy to ensure that you have the ideal thermostat in place in your home.

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Why Is Thermostat Upgrade Part of Heating Service?

Monday, January 19th, 2015

Thermostats have a lot of unacknowledged power. Why? Many people tend to overlook the fact their thermostat is the control center for their heating system, and as such, wields a great deal of power over the system itself. If you are installing a new heating system, why not take advantage of the opportunity to also upgrade your thermostat? Thermostat installation is an important part of our Design Comfort heating services in Sandy, and we’ll explain more about why this is below.

Why Upgrade Your Thermostat?

Here are some of the reasons why you may want to consider upgrading your thermostat along with other heating services you may be engaged with:

  • Precision – if you’ve been using a slide or dial thermostat, you know that you can’t set an exact temperature; instead, you have to aim for a range. While this may not seem like a problem, having your heating run at 2-3 degrees higher than you want it can be costing you money in energy usage. With a digital thermostat, you can set an exact temperature that is easily seen and read.
  • Programmability – do you drive yourself crazy trying to remember to turn down your thermostat as you leave for work every day and turn it back up when you get home? Wouldn’t it be nice to set a program that allows you to do that? With a programmable thermostat, you can do this.
  • Better energy efficiency – programmability and precision allow you to better manage your heating, which can result in better energy efficiency.

Types of Thermostats

There are three main types of thermostats:

  • Digital – precise face, intuitive, easy-to-use buttons.
  • Programmable – a digital thermostat that you can program, allowing you the convenience and benefit of programming your heating for a full seven days.
  • Smart – using smart technology, a smart thermostat allows you to remotely access your thermostat so that you can change settings, program, and monitor and track your energy usage.

Don’t let your thermostat be under-utilized; call Design Comfort today and see how upgrading your thermostat can help both you and your heating system.

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How a Thermostat Impacts Your Air Conditioning System

Friday, August 9th, 2013

While small and compact, your thermostat is your primary user interface, the way by which you adjust the comfort levels of your home. As such, it is an incredibly important part of your HVAC system, and needs to be kept in great working condition at all times. There are numerous types of thermostats on the market today, from simple digital models to the latest in wifi-enabled “smart” designs. Most importantly, your thermostat needs to be professionally installed so that it integrates with your HVAC system in a way that allows you to make subtle adjustments and program the system to operate automatically. Call Design Comfort today for all of comprehensive air conditioning services in Salt Lake City.

Let’s take a look at 3 ways your thermostat impacts your AC:

  • Cooling performance. You need to make sure that your AC gives you the cooling performance you deserve at all times. But it simply cannot do so if your thermostat is not sensing the temperature adequately. When it comes down to the amount of cool air that your system delivers, much of that is dependent on the thermostat’s ability to read the temperature and communicate the discrepancy to the control board. Whether your thermostat is faulty or simply needs to be calibrated, make sure that it works well at all times.
  • Energy efficiency. Energy costs are high enough as it is. You need to make sure that your thermostat is helping your to reduce costs, not increase them. A programmable thermostat allows you to create a schedule of indoor climate adjustments so that you don’t have to cool your home when you’re not there.
  • System longevity. Like any other mechanical system, your AC is subject to a certain amount of wear and tear every cooling season as it attempts to keep up with the outdoor heat and humidity. With that in mind, the less your AC operates, the less wear and tear that it endures. A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule your AC to turn off at certain times of day and days of the week. While a “smart” thermostat can allow you to control the temperature or on/off switch remotely, which can come in handy if you leave the house to go on vacation with your central air on.

Call Design Comfort today for quality air conditioning and thermostat services in Salt Lake City.

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Heating Tip: What Type of Thermostat is Best for My Furnace or Heat Pump?

Monday, November 12th, 2012

The thermostat in your house in Salt Lake City is small and often overlooked part of your home. However, it has a very important job to do. But not all thermostats are created equal. This is especially true for furnace and heat pump thermostats. If your thermostat has stopped working, replacing it might be trickier than you think. Depending on what kind of heating system you have, you’ll want to think about the kind of thermostat that you get. We’ve put together a list of some of the considerations you should take into account as you choose a new thermostat for your furnace or heat pump.

Types of Thermostats

There are two types of thermostats available: manual or programmable.

  • Manual Thermostat – These are normally found in older homes. They cost less but are typically not as energy efficient. Some units can contain mercury.
  • Programmable Thermostat – These thermostats can adjust your heating or air conditioning system automatically. If you have multi-stage heating or air conditioning system, the thermostat can also control the fan speed as well. These types of thermostats can potentially lead to up to 33% energy savings.

Thermostat for Your Furnace

If you have an older furnace with a manual thermostat, you will most likely be able to convert to a digital, programmable thermostat. With a programmable thermostat, your older furnace will be controlled automatically by the thermostat. This highly desirable because, with some units, you can program the furnace to turn off during the day if you’re going to be gone at work. You can also tell it to turn on at a certain time so that your home is warm when you get back. If your furnace is single stage, you’ll need to find a thermostat that is compatible with your furnace. The packaging on thermostats normally indicate if they can work with a single stage or multi-stage furnace. Also, some older homes use 110 or 240 direct current. There should be available thermostats for that as well.

Heat Pump Thermostats

Heat pumps are a completely different kind of heating system that your furnace. They require much more complex thermostats to control them. Heat pumps are very efficient heating and cooling systems. However, if they are used improperly, they can actually cost more to operate than other types of heating systems. A good programmable thermostat for your heat pump is critical to making sure that it is achieving the highest level of efficiency.

If you have any questions about heat pump thermostats for your home in Salt Lake City, contact the experts at Design Comfort. We can help you find the right thermostat for your heat pump or furnace and make sure that it is operating correctly. Give us a call today!

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