Is it possible with this thermostat to set the to turn on the AC 1 degree above what you set and turn off 1 degree below? for example, if i set it to 74, I would like it to turn on when it hits 75 degrees and then off when it hits 73 degrees. Thank you.
Yes, you would need to go to the settings menu and under advanced there is a differential temp setting where you would set it to 1 degree.
1 Like
@mikesid welcome to the user community!
@HiTech is spot on with the settings! Great post!
Be aware though, Smart Thermostats are intended to maximize your energy savings just as much as they are to improve user accessibility and comfort. Narrow differentials increase comfort but also equipment run time, energy use, and equipment wear. Wide differentials decrease comfort but save energy and equipment.
Check out more about this on the net or here: Balancing comfort and technology with residential thermostats | RSES.org.
Good luck!
@SlabSlayer Thank you for the info. We built a new home and I think they oversized the unit and it keeps turning off and on. The unit cools the house to 74 within a few minutes and then turns off. When it gets to about 74.5 (another 4-5 minutes) it turns back on.
The company who put the unit in tells me thats normal (it’s not) so I’m getting a second opinion. Not sure if they will have any suggestions but if they tell me they oversized the unit I’m sure I will have a fight on my hands. Was hoping that perhaps the differential temp would help so that its not turning off and on all the time even though comfort level may suffer.
@HiTech Thank you for the detailed description. Much appreciated.
1 Like
You betcha! There is a user on the forums that is an absolute whiz at HVAC systems and I trust their opinion: @speadie might be able to give you some advice.
My unqualified opinion: Short cycling bc of an oversized unit is not good. Widening the range might help, but it is still oversized.
Good luck!
1 Like
I concur. Short cycling wears out the compressor and fans significantly sooner than normal operation, as well as using excessive energy. As a general rule, a properly sized system should run for at least 15 minutes, and cycle 2 to 3 times per hour. Increasing the differential on the thermostat may help, and the installer can also modify the indoor airflow rate to make the cycles last longer, The homeowner probably shouldn’t modify the speed taps themselves though, as doing it incorrectly can lead to the indoor coil freezing up.
2 Likes
Thank you @speadie.
I had another HVAC tech come in saturday and he thinks the unit is undersized and mentioned our high ceilings. But they wanted the exact sq ft of the house. I told them what it was but they wanted to have someone come over and do their own measurements? I passed on that.
The tech said if the house is getting down to temp it should be fine even if its turning off and on that much. Personally I don’t think thats normal but two techs have now said its fine.
For the airflow rate, the tech who came who was with the company that installed the unit did change the blower. I think he made the blower blow more (probably not the right term). What I notice is when it turns on, its slow for about a minute or so, then blows hard until it reaches temp. When it turns off it slows down for a minute or so and then turns off.
Our kids rooms are warm, and I’m thinking its because the AC doesn’t stay on for more than 5-7 minutes, but i dont know. Just wondering the proper way to tell the company who installed it that somethings not right without sounding rude.
I certainly don’t want to ruin this new AC unit, but also dont want to make the folks who service it mad at me.
1 Like
High ceilings shouldn’t really have an effect on the cooling performance, as cold air settles, and warm air rises. There’s generally no need to cool the air 10 feet up, because no one’s up there. Now, high ceilings would mandate a larger furnace, because any hot air your furnace makes will float away to go hang out near the ceiling. A ceiling fan will stir the air up, this is why ceiling fans have reversing switches, so that you can run them in the winter and they will blow the air towards the ceiling, so as to avoid blowing a breeze on the inhabitants of the room, while still mixing the layers of air to lower your heating bills.
1 Like
Quick update that doesn’t make any sense to me. My cousins were over last night and I was telling them about the AC because we have homes built by the same builder (different models) and I think the same AC. Their home is about 200 sq ft bigger than mine but they havent had the issue I am having.
At one point my cousin drops the temp to 66 and jokes with me, “now it will run a little longer.” A few minutes after he did that I put the temp to 72. This was around 9pm last night. When I went to bed around 10pm, it was still running. I told my wife who is a night owl, to let me know if it turns off during the night.
When I woke up this morning she told me that it did turn off and on a few times during the night. I dont know what a few times means because she doesn’t listen as much to the “clicking” when it turns off and on like I do. I went ahead and turned the temp to 74 from 72. It was running when I did that so it turned off when I put it to 74 and its been off now for a little over an hour.
I am so confused by this AC unit.