Your thermostat plays the crucial role of reading your home’s temperatures and telling your air conditioner when to turn on and off. So if it’s located somewhere that’s affecting its temperature readings, your home could suffer from comfort and efficiency problems. So let’s take a look at why proper placement of your thermostat is so important and places to avoid installing one.
Why is proper thermostat placement important?
If the temperatures that your thermostat reads are not reflective of the average temperature in your home, your air conditioner will either operate too often or not often enough. In either case, it will be difficult to maintain the temperature levels that you want in your home.
Since thermostats are typically installed when your air conditioner is installed, improper placement might occur due to a poor system installation or a remodel to your home that changes the area surrounding your thermostat.
Where to avoid placing a thermostat
- In direct sunlight. If the sun is shining through a window directly on your thermostat, your thermostat will think your home is hotter than it is. This will cause your air conditioner to operate more often than it needs to, which will make your home too cool and cause your system to consume more energy.
- Near air vents. If your thermostat is near an air vent, cool air from your air conditioner can blow on it and your thermostat will think it’s cooler than it is. This can cause your air conditioner to short-cycle, which is bad for your system and your home comfort.
- Near other drafts. In addition to your air vents, drafts can come from windows, doors, fans, and other places that can influence your thermostat’s temperature readings.
- Near heat-producing appliances. If your thermostat is near any heat-producing appliances (especially near your kitchen), your thermostat will get warmer readings than the rest of your home, and tell your air conditioner to stay on longer.
- In a decentralized location. Your thermostat should be placed in the center of your home because that’s where you’re most likely to get an average reading of your home’s temperature levels. If it’s not in a central location, its temperature readings will likely not reflect the rest of your house and your home will either be too hot or too cold.
If you have any questions about the proper placement of your thermostat, or if you’d like a cooling system serviced or installed in your home, contact Jerry Kelly Heating, Air Conditioning, Electrical and Plumbing, your St. Charles, MO, air conditioning company. We service the St. Louis area, including towns like Maryland Heights, O’Fallon, and St. Paul.