You’ve set your thermostat. To your desired temperature. But when you check the temperature in the room, it is warmer (or colder in the winter).
There may be a few reasons for this. Here are some.
- It’s too hot outside
Air conditioning systems in the Chicago area are designed for a temperature of 93 degrees F. That means if the AC is perfectly sized for the house, and it is 93 and sunny outside, the AC runs 100% of the time to maintain 75F in the house. So if your thermostat is set lower, it won’t hit that temperature. If it is windy, that will increase the heat transfer into the home as well. There is really nothing you can do about this as far as the air conditioner goes. Try to keep the house as cool as possible by keeping shades drawn, keeping the lights off, etc. - Sensor problem
Thermostats have sensors to detect the temperature in the surrounding environment. If the sensor is broker or damaged, you may need to replace the thermostat - Location
If the thermostat is around a particularly warm area of the house such as a fireplace, a room with numerous lights or a room that gets a lot of sun, the temperature may be higher. You can help by not installing your thermostat by keeping your window shades closed and keep lights down to a minimum. - Dirt
Dust and lint can collect inside the thermostat and block the sensors, resulting in the room temperature not matching the thermostat setting. You can fix this by carefully using a soft tip brush or cloth to wipe away the dust. - Recalibration
Sometimes your thermostat needs to be recalibrated. Here are a few circumstances that require recalibration:
New thermostats should be calibrated correctly, but may need to be adjusted. Refer to the owner’s manual on how to recalibrate.
• If the batteries in the thermostat die. Switch out the batteries and see if that helps.
• You have a manual, non-programmable thermostat. These are more likely to be affected by factors such as opening and closing doors. Note: if you have such a thermostat, you may want to upgrade to a programmable thermostat.
• Electrical issues may require you to recalibrate your thermostat.
