Thermostats

The mercury thermostat is one of the oldest types of thermostats still in use today. This thermostat uses a mercury bulb attached to the end of a temperature-sensitive bimetal. When the temperature increases the bimetal expands bringing the system on when the temperature decreases the bimetal contracts shutting the system off. The problem is that even though these units hardly ever break they are also hardly ever accurate. They will let the temperature climb higher than you want and then cool the house cooler than what you asked for. This causes your system to run longer and use more electricity while not keeping you as comfortable as you would like. We do not recommend these thermostats.

The digital thermostat is a much more efficient thermostat than the mercury. Instead of using a temperature-sensitive bimetal it uses an electric temperature sensor to bring the system on and off. This allows for much greater accuracy in trying to maintain your home at a constant comfortable temperature. It is easy to use and most of them come with a built-in time delay to protect the compressor. Some models even come with an auto changeover feature that allows you to set your heating and cooling preferences, and bring on the heat or air automatically to keep you in your comfort range. If you have an inconsistent work and home schedule, this is probably the thermostat for you. Just set it and forget it.

The digital programmable thermostat is the same as the digital thermostat with one major difference. This thermostat gives you the ability to preset anywhere from 4-6 different set points per day. You can tell it to come on at 6 a.m. when you wake up and get the house to 78 degrees, then tell it to go to 84 degrees at 8 a.m. when you leave for work. Next, tell it to come on at 5 p.m. and cool the house back down to 78 degrees, then tell it to go to 75 degrees at 9 p.m. when you’re ready to go to bed. Once it is set it will do the rest for you. The upside is that this thermostat allows you to adjust your temperatures according to your schedule to reduce its run time and reduce your cooling cost, the downside is that if you don’t have a fairly regular schedule this thermostat could be inconvenient for you. We recommend this thermostat for the customers that have a regular schedule and can benefit the most from it.

The dehumidistat is the same as the digital programmable thermostat except it has the ability to adjust the systems run time to help increase the dehumidification of your home. Contrary to what some salespeople may tell you, these units do not control humidity. Dehumidification is a byproduct of air conditioning, this unit can drop your system into low stage cooling (if you have a two-stage system) which will allow it to run longer and dehumidify more, but in the end, it will only be able to do so much. The amount of moisture pulled from your air is directly related to your coil temperature and the temperature you are requesting. If you’re are asking it to keep your house at 80 degrees and a 50% humidity level, it will probably never achieve what you are asking for. What it will do is cool your home to 78 degrees trying to get you there. These units are recommended for people who are concerned about monitoring the humidity level in their home.