How to Choose a Replacement Thermostat

Replacing a home thermostat.

Introduction:

Thermostats do go bad and have to be replaced from time to time. Before replacing a thermostat, you must choose the proper replacement. A vast majority of home heating systems use a low-voltage thermostatic control. However, there are two basic types of thermostats to select. You must determine how to choose a thermostat based on what you want the thermostat to do in terms of regulating the heating and cooling of your home.

In addition, there are different features you can choose from. There are the basic standard and programmable thermostats. The standard thermostat simply turns the heating or cooling system on and off when the room gets to or below the temperature it is set at. The more modern electronic programmable thermostat will permit you to set the temperature for different times of the day and on a different schedule for each day. The 24 hour model allows you to set a different schedule for every day of the week.

Expensive models of the programmable thermostat have a built-in controller that will determine when to start the system based upon the current temperature and the desired temperature at an appointed time. For instance, if you wanted the temperature to be 68 degrees when you wake up at 7a.m., the unit will turn on before 7a.m. and start heating or cooling to the programmed temperature. On a colder morning the system will start heating earlier that so the temperature will be up to 68 degrees by 7a.m.

Programmable thermostats are not expensive although they cost more than the standard thermostat. They will save money by heating or cooling your home to a comfortable level when you are home, at a lower or higher temperature while you asleep and even regulate the temperature while you are not at home. A programmable thermostat will pay for itself in fuel savings over a standard thermostat in a very short while.

In the this time of high energy cost, whether you are using oil or gas as an energy source, the electronic programmable thermostat can save you as much as 20% on energy cost over the standard thermostat. The standard thermostat is more than a half century old technology and should be replaced.

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