Part of running any home air conditioning system is understanding the different modes that it comes with. When you have an in-depth understanding of these modes, you can set them in a correct fashion to optimize your energy savings throughout the year. We’re going to go over some of the most commonly used settings below in this quick but informative guide provided by Simmons Heating & Cooling in Chesapeake.
On and Off Modes
Two modes that you’re probably familiar with on your home thermostat are the on mode and the off mode. When your system is set to the on mode, it will turn the air handler on so that it circulates air throughout your home. This option is great for when you want to circulate air to remove stale odors from a room that you had blocked off for a while.
However, it’s not very energy efficient as you manually have to turn it off. Off mode is specifically designed to turn off the entire air conditioning system. In order for the system to turn back on, you would have to manually turn it on again.
Temperature Settings
A significant part of your home thermostat is the temperature setting. The digital display on your system will have two or three different temperature readings that should be marked clearly for you to understand. The first is the actual temperature reading for your home environment. The second is the desired temperature that you want your home to be set at. Some newer thermostats have a third temperature setting that reveals the temperature outside.
The setting that you need to be most concerned with is the desired temperature. This is where you input the temperature that you want your home to be. Your air conditioning system will utilize this desired temperature when it’s set on auto or run modes.
Cool and Heat Modes
Two settings that are fairly self-explanatory are the heat setting and the cool setting. When you want your thermostat to turn on the air conditioning system, you’ll need to set it to the cool function. When you want your thermostat to turn on your heating system, you’ll need to set it to the heat function. If your system is not set on either the heat or the cool function, it will just circulate the air inside of your home without changing its temperature.
The Auto Setting
A very popular thermostat setting is auto mode. When your system is in this mode, it’s constantly comparing the actual temperature inside of your home with the desired temperature that you have put in. Anytime that the actual room temperature gets above your set desired temperature, your air conditioning system will kick on.
When you have your thermostat set on heat mode, anytime that the room temperature goes below what your desired temperature is, it will kick on the heating system. In both situations, whenever the actual room temperature meets the desired temperature, your thermostat will automatically turn off your heating and cooling system.
Run Mode
Run mode is solely available in programmable thermostat models. It is very similar to auto mode. However, instead of just running off of one temperature, it’s running off of an entire schedule of temperatures. With your programmable thermostat, you can set specific temperatures for different hours throughout all the days of the week. This allows you to set it to a different temperature for the hours that no one is in the home.
When you have your thermostat in run mode, it’s going off of that programmed schedule. It’s not running based on one desired temperature like it would in auto mode.
Hold Mode
Hold mode is a convenient feature that’s offered in programmable thermostats as an alternative to run mode. If your schedule sees an unforeseen change and you would like to alter the temperature inside of your home without changing your programmed schedule, you want to switch it to hold mode.
When you set your system to hold mode, you’ll be able to set another mode to run jointly with it. For example, you can select hold mode and auto mode. This will allow your thermostat to run based on the desired temperature that you have set and not the pre-programmed schedule that it would normally be running off of. Whenever you have the hold mode on, you should be able to read the words ‘HOLD’ on your digital thermostat. It’s important to remember to take your thermostat off of hold mode whenever you want to go back to your normal, pre-programmed temperature schedule.
Professional, Top-Quality AC Service Now
Simmons Heating & Cooling provides professional air conditioner service in the Chesapeake, VA region. We also offer heating, indoor air quality, water heater and ductwork assistance, and geothermal services to all of our fellow neighbors. Simply give us a call today to get assistance from our highly experienced technicians. we look forward to hearing from you.