Thermostats. We love them but often we also hate them. Every thermostat is different! And it seems like each has their own tricks and treats for us, don't they? I had one thermostat that I was never able to make any changes to the original owner's programming. So every day, twice a day, I had to set the thermostat for where we wanted it through the day, and through the night. Otherwise it popped back up to their 85 day and night! Oyyyy!
Another one was so irritating! It just didn't react if the thermostat was set for 75-77. So we either had to be at 73 or 78.
Even the brand new ones can be tricky. I visiting one of my clients after they had moved into their gorgeous and brand new house. He was working hard to unpack and so hot, sweaty and frustrated. And, of course, too busy to try to understand the thermostat manual! I read it over twice, tried what it said, and did get it to cool down for the family. But didn't quite get how to set it permanently.
I suggested to them – and to you: Whenever possible, talk to the last owner/tenant and ask them how they did it. Of course, if they never figured it out, you may be out of luck there. But it's worth a try. For a brand new house, talk to the construction supervisor. They should have a good idea of how their gizmos work as well.
If you can't talk to the past occupant and have no handbook, get as much info on the thermostat as you can. Then head for the internet and look it up. Many of the manuals can be found online. And hopefully you can eventually figure it out that way.
And if you wind up with the toughest one I ever had to fix – be aware that some thermostats open in TWO ways. I had opened the front panel on this particular one but there was no useful info. I had a friend stop by and was showing it to her. She was braver than I and while experimenting with it discovered it opened from the top (which I had found) AND the bottom – where we found the info we needed.
As in most things in life, thinking “outside the box” can really pay off! And, of course, there's always a great hardware store nearby with new thermostats (and possibly new issues!). Happy heating and cooling to you all – in Roseville CA and beyond. 🙂
