Log in

View Full Version : Will it hurt my thermostat to turn it down while the furnace is running?


ryelover
Feb 13, 2012, 09:58 AM
Can anyone help me here? My wife tells me that you should not turn the thermostat down while the furnace is running. Is there any truth to this? Should I wait for the furnace to cycle off before I turn the thermostat down? Thanks. This has been a long running argument, and I don't really care if I am wrong or not.

Thanks!

massplumber2008
Feb 13, 2012, 03:50 PM
Hi Ryelover...

Your wife will NOT be happy here, so break it to her gently, but it makes absolutley no difference when you turn the thermostat up or down... ;)

Turning it off mid cycle, for example, is no different than if the system reached temperature (i.e. thermostat was satisfied) and shut itself off, right?

I'd wait until AFTER Valentine's Day to tell her... :)

Mark

wmproop
Feb 13, 2012, 04:11 PM
If your house is like mine, its not often the little woman looses an argument,, but in this case you win,absolutely nothing can get hurt except the wife`s feelings

mygirlsdad77
Feb 13, 2012, 05:24 PM
Yep, you win. You can turn it down any time you please.

wmproop
Feb 13, 2012, 05:28 PM
I will have to add, say for instance if a child was to make a toy out of the tstat and do the turn up,turn down a lot it can/could do some damage,, but I don`t think you was talking about the tstat being a toy, lol

mygirlsdad77
Feb 13, 2012, 05:36 PM
I agree, wmproop. You don't want to turn the stat up, then down over and over again quickly, but turning it down during a call for heat won't cause a problem. Now, for central a/c, if your stat or condenser unit don't have a time delay, you really don't want to turn the stat down and back up again right away, as you need a short time delay (normally five minutes) for the refrigerant system pressures to equalize. Most newer stats have the time delay built in for a/c and or heatpumps.

ryelover
Feb 13, 2012, 06:01 PM
Thanks everyone. Greatly appreciated! I will break the news on Wednesday!

massplumber2008
Feb 13, 2012, 06:55 PM
Smart man... :)