This Thermostat Mistake Was Costing Me Hundreds: 3 Tips To Get The Best Temperature Control

Trending 1 month ago
Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen)
Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Have you ever recovered yourself successful a thermostat tug-of-war? One room feels for illustration a sauna, different for illustration an icebox, each while your trusty thermostat claims your location is astatine a perfectly mean and comfortable 72 degrees?

The truth is, you're astir apt not imagining things, and nan culprit could beryllium hanging correct location connected your wall. As it turns out, wherever your thermostat is located tin make a world of quality to some your comfortableness and your power bills.

Also: How to disable ACR connected your TV (and why doing truthful makes specified a large difference)

Chances are, your thermostat is not located successful nan saccharine spot for meticulous whole-home somesthesia readings. In a way, your thermostat is nan encephalon of your heating, ventilation, and aerial conditioning (HVAC) system. It senses nan aerial somesthesia and tells your strategy erstwhile to footwear connected and erstwhile to return a break. 

But what if it's getting a skewed type of reality? According to experts, this is simply a communal scenario, and it's apt costing you money. Here are immoderate tips for wherever to debar installing your thermostat, and nan champion places to do it instead.

1. Don't get excessively adjacent to nan sun

One of nan biggest mistakes is placing your thermostat successful nonstop sunlight. Imagine your thermostat basking successful a warm, sunny spot. It's going to deliberation nan room is overmuch hotter than it really is. Consequently, it'll support your aerial conditioning moving overtime, moreover if nan remainder of nan location is perfectly comfortable aliases siding connected chilly. You extremity up overcooling your location and wasting power -- a double whammy for your wallet and nan environment.

Also: The champion smart blinds and shades of 2025

Similarly, placing a thermostat excessively adjacent to heat-producing appliances is simply a look for inefficiency. This could beryllium adjacent nan room oven, a often utilized television, aliases moreover a heat-generating lamp. These "hot spots" tin instrumentality your thermostat into reasoning nan ambient somesthesia is higher, starring to your AC moving harder than it needs to. 

Conversely, successful nan winter, it mightiness not awesome your heating strategy to move connected enough, leaving you successful nan cold.

2. Draft locations are different no-go

If your thermostat is adjacent a poorly sealed window, an exterior doorway that's often opened, aliases moreover successful a peculiarly breezy hallway, it will registry a cooler somesthesia than nan remainder of your surviving space. This tin origin your heating strategy to tally excessively successful nan colder months, arsenic it perpetually tries to lukewarm up an area that's getting a continuous blast of cool air.

Also: I trial smart location devices for a living, and this is my favourite smart thermostat

What astir those lonely, unused rooms? Sticking a thermostat successful a spare chamber that's usually closed disconnected intends your full home's ambiance power is being dictated by a abstraction that doesn't bespeak your existent surviving conditions. If that room stays people cooler aliases warmer than nan remainder of nan house, your HVAC strategy will beryllium fighting a losing conflict to execute a somesthesia that isn't typical of wherever you really walk your time.

3. The perfect installation area

So, wherever should this captious portion of location exertion live? The perfect spot is connected an interior wall, successful a often utilized room -- for illustration nan surviving room aliases a cardinal hallway that experiences bully airflow and a accordant temperature. 

It should beryllium mounted astir 52 to 60 inches from nan level to efficaciously consciousness nan room's mean temperature, distant from nan aforementioned culprits: nonstop sunlight, drafts, and nonstop power sources.

Google Nest Thermostat
Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Think of it arsenic uncovering nan astir "average" spot successful your home. You want your thermostat to get a existent consciousness of your home's wide climate, not an utmost reference from a quirky corner.

Making a move mightiness look for illustration a hassle, but nan semipermanent benefits tin beryllium substantial. An accurately placed thermostat intends your HVAC strategy operates much efficiently, starring to little power bills and a much consistently comfortable location environment. You'll apt acquisition less basking and acold spots and trim unnecessary deterioration and tear connected your system.

Also: I replaced my Ring pinch this outdoor information camera - and there's nary subscription required

Before you crank that AC aliases furnace up yet again, return a bully look astatine wherever your thermostat is perched. A elemental relocation could beryllium nan cardinal to unlocking a much comfortable location and immoderate invited savings. It's a mini alteration that tin make a amazingly large difference.

Get nan morning's apical stories successful your inbox each time pinch our Tech Today newsletter.

More