I thought a thermostat was meant to simplify life with HVAC equipment, but I learned quickly that it could affect the entire heating and cooling system and cause it to malfunction too.
The boiler stopped working, and I tried changing the temperatures with the thermostat, but nothing was changing.
It was cold, and I needed the heater to work. I changed the batteries on the control, but the heating equipment would still not work. I had to call the heating and cooling provider for help, and they asked me if I had changed the batteries before deciding to send over their HVAC technician to diagnose the issue. As I waited, I couldn’t help but panic about what could be wrong with the central heater and how much it would cost to do boiler repair. In the worst-case scenario, I’d have to buy an electric furnace as a replacement because the furnace/heater tune-up failed. It was a long hour as my thoughts raced, and I tried not to freeze in the cold house. I mentioned my thoughts to the heating contractor once he arrived, and he assured me it was more likely a thermostat issue. He was right because an hour after troubleshooting the entire unit, the problem was dirt and dust accumulated in the thermostat. He opened it up, and I was shocked that such an amount would accumulate within the space, but it made sense because I’d not cleaned it since moving on five years earlier. I would like to know how it doesn’t have something to keep dirt away, like a furnace filter. I was lucky cleaning saved the thermostat, and I didn’t need to buy a new one, and my heating unit was on shortly after.