If you’re a homeowner, you’re probably familiar with many of the primary factors that affect your household climate. Perhaps the biggest one is the performance of your heating and cooling system, but there are many other contributors. Keeping clean ducts, air vents, and air filters is also crucial if you want to have total control over your comfort. And did you know that the placement of your household thermostat also plays a role in keeping you comfortable?
If you have a modern thermostat, it will be constantly taking stock of the climate around it. When the thermostat detects that your home’s temperature is below or above your ideal comfort level, it will communicate your needs to your HVAC system. Then, your heating or cooling appliance will start circulating air accordingly. However, this system only works well if your thermostat can accurately measure the temperature of your living space.
If you set up the thermostat in an area where it will be susceptible to temperature interference, you can end up with “ghost readings.” Basically, a ghost reading occurs when your thermostat relays incorrect information to your HVAC unit. If these ghost readings are a common occurrence, it can lead to your heating and cooling systems operating significantly more or less than they’re supposed to.
3 Ideal Places for Your Thermostat
When deciding where to place your thermostat, there are some general guidelines that you should always try to follow. If you’re using a modern smart thermostat, make sure you place it within the Wi-Fi range and somewhere that will allow it to maintain a strong signal. This way, you’ll always be able to access it with your remote or mobile app. Secondly, you should always be sure to place your thermostat between 50 and 62 inches above the floor. Remember that hot air always rises, so the air will be warmer the closer you get to the ceiling. And since cold air sinks, it will be significantly colder closer to the floor. If you want to avoid ghost readings, take the time to measure your thermostat’s distance from the ground and ensure that it’s within the ideal range.
1. In Your Favorite Room
Is there a room where you and your family spend most of your time? If there is, it would probably make an excellent location for your thermostat. For example, if you relax for hours in the living room every night, you’ll certainly want that room to remain as comfortable as possible. If the thermostat happens to be located there, it will always base its readings on the living room climate. As a result, your living room should always remain comfortable and so should you and everyone who shares your home.
2. Near the Center of Your House
If your goal is to keep your entire household comfortable, then your aim should be to place your thermostat somewhere that will provide the most accurate, consistent readings. Often, that means setting it up near the center of your home. When you place your thermostat near the middle of the house, not only will it be easily accessible for everyone, but it will also get an accurate picture of the home’s climate. This option will be your best chance of avoiding ghost readings and making things easy on your HVAC system.
3. On the First Floor of a Two-Story Home
As mentioned above, heat rises, and cold air sinks. That means that if you live in a two-story house, it’s very likely that the second floor will be significantly warmer than the first floor. So, if your thermostat is placed on the second floor, it will frequently decide that your home needs to be cooled down, even if that isn’t actually the case.
As a result, your home will be too chilly after making your air conditioner work much harder than it should need to. Instead, you’ll get more accurate readings by placing the thermostat in a central area of your first floor. That said, if you want to have as much control as possible over the climate of your two-story home, you’d be wise to consider investing in a zoned system. If you do this, you’ll be able to manually control the temperature of each section or floor of your house.
3 Poor Places for Your Thermostat
The main areas you want to avoid when placing your thermostat are places where the temperature will be inconsistent. Essentially, any part of your home where the temperature fluctuates is a no-go. You should also avoid putting your thermostat in any place where it may be blocked by furniture or an open door. Read on to discover a few spots you should steer clear of when searching for your thermostat’s new home.
1. In the Path of Direct Sunlight
For obvious reasons, having your thermostat positioned where it will get hit with direct sunlight is a bad idea. Very few homeowners do this intentionally, but it’s an easy mistake to make by accident. For example, if you install the thermostat at night, it may not even occur to you that it will be showered with sunlight in the morning. Now that you know this, though, you can think through where you’re placing the thermostat and verify that it won’t be baking in the sun all day.
2. In the Kitchen
If you regularly do any cooking using the oven or range, you definitely don’t want to put your thermostat in the kitchen. When those appliances are running, your kitchen will become one of the warmest spots in your entire home. As a result, your HVAC system will be receiving regular ghost readings from your thermostat.
3. Near Doors or Windows
Usually, the temperatures around your home’s doorways and windows will be more prone to fluctuation than other areas of your house. If your thermostat is positioned beside a window, any drafts that come through that window will affect its temperature readings. Additionally, if the window is harboring any air leaks, that will make it even harder for it to gather accurate information.
Alternatively, if the thermostat is placed next to a door, then every time that door opens, it will come into contact with a rush of air. Nine times out of 10, the air that blows in through the open door will be significantly colder or warmer than the temperature of your home. To experience as few ghost readings as possible, keep your thermostat away from any doors or windows.
For nearly 50 years, our team at McGowan's Heating & Air Conditioning has been proudly serving residents of Central and Northeast Florida, from Fernandina Beach south to Daytona Beach and from St. Augustine west to Starke. We’re a family-owned and -operated business, and we employ an exceptional staff and skilled technicians.
We offer all sorts of high-quality services, including heating, air conditioning, new construction, and duct cleaning, just to name a few. We sell, install, and service the very best products on the market, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on every job that we do. We will treat your home as if it were our own and leave you with the peace of mind that the job was done right. To enlist our services, give us a call at McGowan's Heating & Air Conditioning now.
