The partnership between both your furnace and your thermostat is essential. So, if your furnace has suddenly stopped responding to your thermostat, you may be a little confused about what is happening. What do you do? What do you check? These are valid questions, and we are here to help make this process less stressful for you! With the following tips and tricks from Five Star Home Services, you can learn how to troubleshoot what is going on with your thermostat.
Check the Batteries and the Power Source
It’s always a good idea to check on the thermostat’s batteries even if it feels like it’s unnecessary. Keep in mind that most standard thermostats use batteries, while many modern, smart thermostats typically utilize batteries as a backup option. However, whatever type of thermostat you have, more often than you’d think, many thermostat issues can be attributed to low battery power.
So, if your thermostat is acting a little wonky, don’t be afraid to verify if the issue can be resolved with a simple swap of your old batteries to new ones. If this doesn’t fix the problem, it wouldn’t hurt to check the furnace’s power switch as well to make sure nothing got turned off.
Check the Settings
You can mark that step off your troubleshooting list after you have checked the batteries. Next, let’s move onto checking the thermostat’s settings. There are many modern and digital thermostats that typically already come with preprogrammed setback settings.
So, what is the setback feature? This specific feature is meant to boost your furnace’s heating efficiency and guarantees your home will never reach too low of a temperature that is unhealthy and dangerous for your household. Knowing this, you may want to look closer at your thermostat and see it’s currently running off of a setback setting.
Check the Wiring
If your thermostat issues are not resolved, another component of your thermostat that you should look at is the wiring. Naturally, your thermostat is connected to your HVAC system through a wire connection which is what is needed for it to communicate with your furnace properly.
Believe it or not, it’s actually normal for these wire connections to wear out or loosen over long periods of time. Think of it as normal wear and tear. So, if everything was working perfectly fine, until all of sudden it wasn’t, loose wiring may very well be the culprit. Although this is a task many voltage-savvy homeowners like to take on themselves, we normally don’t recommend shouldering this particular troubleshooting step yourself unless you are an experienced professional.
Check the Software
As with most modern technology nowadays, many devices require regularly updated software. If you own a smart thermostat that functions off of a Wi-Fi connection, it uses software to operate and control the furnace. As a result, software updates from the manufacturer will need to be updated on your end every so often. You can try checking the app via your smartphone to see if the software on your thermostat needs to be updated. Should you find an update available, go ahead and prompt the software to update and see if this fixes your current thermostat issue.
Check the Air Filters
We’ll say it until we are blue in the face. But anytime you have an HVAC issue, you should always make it a point to check on those air filters! You’d be surprised how many furnace issues are simply a result of an overly clogged air filter. This usually happens because your HVAC system’s air filters are designed to trap dust and other airborne particles. But it can only hold so much. So, when they are bogged down with dust and other airborne contaminants, it’s only natural that your HVAC system will not be able to function as intended.
Please note that we usually recommend for homeowners to check on and change their air filters every 30-90 days (1 – 3 months). With this in mind, if your HVAC system’s air filters are not changed regularly, it will negatively affect your home’s air quality and decrease your system’s effectiveness to function as intended. If your air filters have not been changed in a while, it is possible that the restricted airflow can confuse your furnace, ultimately affecting its communication with the thermostat.
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What Do You Do Now?
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If, after checking the batteries, power switch, settings, wiring, and software, and even after checking your air filters, your thermostat is still not working as it should, we’d love to help! As always, you can count on us. Please leave it to your Five Star family to get everything back up and running again. There may be a deeper underlying issue going on, or perhaps you have a thermostat that just needs to be replaced—whatever the situation is, you can rest assured that we will get you squared away and taken care of.
Five Star Home Services is here to assist you with all of your home service needs! We would be honored to provide you with our five-star service. Call us at (614) 405-8009 or click here to schedule an appointment online at your convenience!
