Archives for October 2019

Honeywell Thermostat Troubleshooting – A Six Step Guide

October 25, 2019 by Sindy Aubrey

Thermostats serve one purpose – to set the indoor temperature. To this end, they all display different features in terms of accuracy, reliability, size, and more. While there are slight deviations between models, design, ease of installation and maintenance are usually the main deal makers for most customers. Somehow, the criteria list seems too short. Did we overlook something? Why yes, brand. When choosing for a sleek-looking, top-notch home appliance, you trust the giants in the field to sell you ingenious devices that border on sci-fi territory. Honeywell is one such label present in almost every household on the American continent. Along with straightforward management software, their products adapt well to your indoor climate demands. However, if problems arise, you might have to engage on a Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting crusade.

Don’t let the thought discourage you, though. You may not realize it, but when it comes to issues with your Honeywell thermostat, you just might have it in you to resolve the issue yourself. Even if you don’t have much knowledge about Honeywell thermostats, just like all appliances in your home, you can always try out a couple of troubleshooting tips that may get you back in business. Today, we are going to be doing just that. In our article, we are going to explore a few of the most important troubleshooting tricks that every owner of a Honeywell thermostat must know. While our tips may not fix every issue you will deal with, these tips certainly are the right steps to take in order to help guide you on what to do next. You will likely find that with a couple of lid flips, clicks, and disconnections, you may be able to save yourself the hassle of having a professional come out to take a look at your unit. And if you don’t have any issues with your Honeywell thermostat yet, then knowing these tips can save you the stress of freaking out when something does go awry. Let’s get started!

Our Favorite Honeywell Thermostats

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Whichever issue arises, we can all agree that a faulty thermostat is not a great way to start the day. You wake up in the morning and it’s too cold to get out of bed. On the other hand, you might roast in global warming temperatures in the middle of the night if your thermostat decides to cross the Fahrenheit thresholds. Identifying the problem is part of the solution, so let’s see if your device has reached the end of its shelf life or you can still count on the old heating/cooling system for comfort in your home.

Even if your system does pose problems not listed below, try these Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting tips first. Who wouldn’t want to avoid the expense of calling an outside specialist to deal with an internal problem?

Honeywell Thermostat Troubleshooting Guide – Fix the Temper on Your Temperature Stat

Analog or Digital Thermostat?

Depending on the Honeywell thermostat in your home, the issues to address will vary. The thermostat conditions the indoor climate – the AC, the heat pump or the furnace – to generate the desired temperature.

Electronic Thermostats – Honeywell Thermostat Cool On Flashing and Battery Check

An electronic thermostat basically runs on an automatic switch. Its mission is to turn your AC on and off at certain temperatures. If your unit is on the blink, the issues usually root in:

Compressor protection. In this case, along with the Honeywell thermostat flashing, a “cool on” or “heat on” message pops up as well.
Low Batteries. If your analog thermostat is on the fritz and you have no doubt that it has been installed and programmed properly, try replacing the batteries. A lot of homes have electronic thermostats that run on battery power. While a ‘Replace bat’ message always sounds the alarm when your thermostat runs low on batteries, a wise move would be to change them periodically nonetheless.

Several other issues may occur. The older models of thermostats are usually the analog kind displaying the minimal features. They come equipped with the basic three buttons for heating, cooling and turning off. They are not programmable as their digital counterparts. As it goes, you may be able to fix the troubleshooting with a few simple adjustments.

First, be sure your thermostat is mounted on the level with the wall. Otherwise, the mercury switch may be tilted and the reading of the room temperature off. Check that with a small torpedo level. Usually, it should be located about 5 feet from the floor. Never put it in a corner or behind a closet. Ideally, it should be able to sample the air in the room with no interference.

Start by removing the thermostat cover. Check the insides for dust, dirt, or corrosion. Use a soft brush or cloth to wipe it off, if that’s the case. Usually, the main culprit is the one you least suspects. In our case, dust.

Next, make sure the colored wiring is connected properly inside the unit. Use your guiding manual for the test. If all is fine, then the issue is either with the furnace or AC. In the worst case scenario and if all Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting fails, you need to get a new thermostat.

Honeywell Home RTH9585WF1004 Wi-Fi Smart Color Thermostat, 7 Day...

COMFORT COMES IN YOUR COLOR. Personalize your Wi-Fi Smart Color Programmable Thermostat to fit your décor.
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Fix the Mood Swings on Your Digital Thermostat

Digital programmable thermostats work around your schedule. If you install them in a business set-up or your home, you know you’re dealing with smart response technology. Some Honeywell devices feature keypads with digital displays. Others work via a touchscreen so there are no fiddly buttons of the yesteryear. While the newest generation of thermostats allows you total control from a distance via your smartphone, computer, or tablet.

Of course, the more options in a thermostat, the more can go wrong. However, before calling the serviceman, make sure you’ve tried all the easy fixes to treat the problem yourself.

Honeywell Programmable Thermostat Manual for Troubleshooting

Step 1 – No Life Signs on the Display

Honeywell digital thermostats share one common problem. Sometimes, the display screen doesn’t read anything. If your thermostat is connected to a furnace, check the furnace door. If it’s not shut properly, then the door switch will not activate the central HVAC system. you can find details about these processes in the Honeywell programmable thermostat manual.

Step 2 – Bring Out the Room Thermometer

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Just an intuitive flash, but before disassembling the device and pronouncing it irreversibly dead, you might want to check the room temperature on a thermometer. If your thermostat doesn’t match your findings, then the temperature sensor is probably malfunctioning.

This might prove to be more of a burden than you think, since purchasing an entirely new unit will be more cost-effective than buying a replacement for a broken part.

In the case of a thermostat connected to a furnace, set the thermostat temperature five degrees higher than the room temp. At that point, the furnace should kick in.

Step 3 – Balance the Two Temperatures

This next step is to tick off the set point calibration test. That means you need to match the set point, or desired temperature with the room sensors on your thermostat, that is your surrounding space temperature. Read the instruction manual for further guidance. Thermostats come in different models, so they might exhibit various calibration techniques.

You can also check if your thermostat has any guided assistance written on the inside of the cover. Remove the baseplate and check before calling the manufacturer.

Step 4 – A Unit with a Short Fuse and Honeywell Thermostat Blank Screen

If your thermostat is acting up, check your unit’s fuses. One reason the thermostat display might read blank it’s because the circuit breakers on your central air conditioner or furnace might have tripped.

First, try flipping the breaker switch to the Off and back to the On position. Resetting the fuse will let you know if the circuits are disconnected. If in the end you need to replace the fuses and you don’t know how to proceed, you might want to call a professional to the scene.

Step 5 – Your AC or Furnace Must Have Its Wires Crossed

Typically, inside a Honeywell thermostat, small colored wires are labeled R, W, Y, G, C. If any of these are not in the correct positions, then you have a really crossed AC. You just need to defuse all that and reinstall the loose wiring.

The Red wire usually represents the 24-volt main power supply for the thermostat, White is for heat, Yellow is for cooling, Green is the indoor fan, while the C terminal stands for common ground. This wire provides power from the heating or cooling unit to the thermostat through low voltage. If you can’t spot any wires connected to C, then the thermostat is powered by a battery.

We mention this again – not all thermostats follow the rules above so it’s safer to refer to the color code chart in your instruction manual before operating on the wiring hookups.

Also, apart from being disengaged, your wires might suffer from a severe case of corrosion. On the other hand, you might be dealing with a short-circuit. To ensure electrical continuity, try hooking your wires with twist-on wire connectors, or wire nuts. Make sure all connections are tight so that electricity runs properly through. Most of the times, Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting boils down to coupling a few wires together.

Warning Tip! Even if only 24 volts run through the thermostat, it’s always a good idea to turn off the main power supply when touching wires together.

Honeywell Wireless WiFi Thermostat,7 Programmable

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Step 6 – Set the Right Day and Time

If none of the above works, don’t lose hope. One last step to take in your Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting crusade before you throw your stat out the window is to verify the clock is set to the correct day and time. Electronic thermostats have these minor hiccups where the wrong day and time can impede proper function.

Typically, the default setting reads four segments of the day:

6:00 a.m. is Wake.
8:00 a.m. is Leave.
6:00 p.m. is Return.
10:00 p.m. is Sleep.

Of course, you’re free to readjust the settings if your schedule runs on a different course.

Step 7 – If All Else Fails, Consider a Replacement

If you’ve run your Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting through all these simple tests, and the device is still not responding properly, you could be dealing with less of an electrical problem and more of a mechanical one. Or the thermostat itself might be faulty.

Make sure your thermostat is indeed broken before you start snapping the wires loose and unplugging it from your furnace or AC unit. To keep the transition to a newer thermostat to minimum hassle, just choose a new model that abides by roughly the same size and shape as the old one.

Your thermostat is the control center for your HVAC system. Understandably, you wouldn’t want to get to the point where you’re operating Honeywell thermostat troubleshooting on and off. So the just aim at the issue at the hand with all the handyman weapons at your disposal and blast the trouble away.

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What Size HVAC Do I Need? The Ultimate Sizing Guide

October 24, 2019 by HVAC Expert

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Utility bills are a sizeable part of any household budget. When you live in a cold or warm climate, and especially one with severe summers and winters, your HVAC heating bills can leave you feeling like there’s a hole in your wallet. Some households must even go on level payment plans to afford their bills during the hottest and coldest months. To keep their homes affordable, households need to slash energy costs wherever they can. Did you know that the size of your HVAC unit is one of the biggest factors in heating/cooling costs? That’s why we found the answer to the question, What size HVAC do I need?

What Size HVAC Do I Need?

Determining HVAC size needs relies on calculating the British thermal units (BTU) required to heat/cool your home. Once you have the BTU number, it’s a matter of selecting an HVAC unit with the right BTU rating.

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Accurately determining BTUs requires an extensive calculation, which can be performed by an HVAC professional. Though you can guesstimate BTU needs based on square footage, there are too many other factors for the estimate to help you fine tune your HVAC setup and save on your monthly bills. Here are the two steps you must follow to answer the question: What size HVAC do I need?

Step 1

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To answer the question, What size HVAC do I need, you first must calculate how many BTUs your home requires to stay adequately heated or cooled. HVAC pros often use a manual calculation to make this determination. This method is preferable because it uses precise measurements to calculate a much more accurate answer.

The manual calculation considers the following factors:

The home’s square footage
Climate considerations
Ductwork
Numbers of windows and style

Shade/sunlight
Insulation
Number of residents
The effect of heat-generating appliances

Many utility companies will complete an energy audit that determines BTUs needed at no cost to the customer. If your utility company doesn’t provide this service, you can hire an independent energy auditor or an HVAC dealer to conduct the audit. They will produce a report that shows how many BTUs are needed to keep your home comfortable.It’s also possible to use your home’s square footage to gain a rough estimate of BTU needs. Though more convenient, using square footage just doesn’t provide the accuracy of the manual calculation. Square footage estimates can’t account for factors like climate, window types, insulation, shade/sunlight and other factors unique to your home.

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The below chart provides a rough estimation of BTU needs based on just square footage:

House Square Footage	BTUs Needed
100 – 150	5,000
150 – 250	6,000
250 – 300	7,000
300 – 350	8,000
350 – 400	9,000
400 – 450	10,000
450 – 500	12,000
500 – 700	14,000
700 – 1,000	18,000
1,000 – 1,200	21,000
1,200 – 1,400	23,000
1,400 – 1,500	24,000
1,500 – 2,000	30,000
2,000 – 2,500	34,000

Step 2

With your BTU calculation in hand, it’s time to select the best unit for your home. An HVAC dealer can advise you on the myriad of options. In some cases, your options may be limited by the type of HVAC infrastructure you have and the size of the space where it must fit. Many apartments and condos require a certain model, which unfortunately can eliminate choices that may provide more efficient heating and cooling.

Assuming your choices are not limited, the HVAC dealer can demonstrate the units that suit your BTU size. Often, BTU calculations land inbetween sizes. This should cause no concern, simply go with the bigger size. Having a unit that’s a little larger than needed is the best practice anyway. It ensures adequate heating and cooling and provides some extra capacity should the BTU change. For example, if you need more power for air conditioning because of the loss of shade trees. Also, you are covered for unusually cold- or hot spells.

Getting an excessively large unit should always be avoided. When the units are too large, they heat/cool the home too quickly, resulting in too frequent on/off cycles that cause uneven heating/cooling and higher energy bills.

Pro tip:

Limit the maximum size of the unit to 15% over the BTUs needed for cooling and 40% over the BTUs required for heating. Heat pumps, which handle both heating and cooling, should never be larger that 25% of BTUs.

Central Air Conditioning Tonnage and Size

If you need to install a central air conditioning system, determining tonnage is the first step. When it comes to air conditioning, size is a critical component in selecting the right unit. Selecting a unit that’s too big will cost you dearly every time the monthly electric bill arrives. In short, a 4-ton unit to cool a 3-ton spaceI achieves no increased performance level.

When the AC unit is too big, it cools the home too rapidly. As a result, it shuts off before completing its entire cycle. As a result, warm air seeps back in much quicker, forcing the unit on again too soon. This increased turning on and off shoots your electric bill to the moon.

An AC unit that is too small is even worse. Unless you choose a unit that is many sizes too small, the AC will keep the house nice and cool, but it will run almost constantly. Today’s central AC units are designed to gradually cool the home and then remain shut off for longer periods, which saves energy. When the unit is too small, it pumps most of the day in an effort to keep up, increasing your electric bills. On top of that, the AC components are overtaxed, causing them to wear out faster and costing even more money. The overuse is also bad for the environment.

A right-sized central AC system runs through the cycle as it was designed, resulting in even cooling and maximal efficiency.

Tonnage

The goal of calculating AC size is to determine what tonnage you need from your AC system. Tonnage is a measure of how many BTUs an air conditioner can cool in one hour. Each ton represents 1,000 BTUs per hour cooling capacity, so, for example, a 2-ton air conditioner cools 2,000 BTUs per hour. Residential air conditioners range from 1.5 to 5 tons.

How Much Tonnage Do You Need?

To answer the question, what size HVAC do I need when it comes to AC tonnage, use the following formula for average climates:

Square footage * 30 / 12,000 – 1

Hot and arid climates like the desert Southwest require a different calculation. For these climates, using the following formula to answer the question, “What size HVAC do I need?”

Square footage * 20 /12,000 – 0

Though these calculations are helpful in estimating the tonnage need, a professional manual J report is the best bet. The manual J report, which can be conducted by an HVAC pro through from your electric company or an HVAC dealer, takes into account important factors that are unique to your home. For example, how much shade is around your property, the thickness of installation and the type of windows you have. The manual J report will give you the tonnage number need.

Tips for Saving Energy

Getting the right sized air conditioner is a great first step, but there are many other ways to save on your utility bills. Considering that HVAC typically represents 50% to 60% of utility costs, it’s well worth the effort to shore up your HVAC system for increased performance.

Don’t Skip on Maintenance

Religiously changing the filter extends the life of your HVAC system and helps it run more efficiently. When dust and other particles collect in the coil and other areas, the system must condition more air to meet heating and cooling needs. A fresh filter keeps the system clean.

Programmable Thermostat

You may want to keep the house toasty on a cold winter’s day, but do you really need the heat blasting when you’re under the blankets? Program the thermostat to a lower temperature at night and have it automatically adjust upwards shortly before your wake up time.

Invest in Energy Efficient HVAC Equipment

If your HVAC unit is ten or more years old, new, energy efficient equipment is a great investment. The difference in efficiencies will save you every month and you won’t have to worry about costly repairs for a long time. Energy Star rated models save even more.

Insulate

Conditioned air that seeps out of the house costs you money. Adding insulation to walls, windows, pipes, ducts and outlets keep the warm of cool air inside and lead your HVAC system to work less.

Utility bills leave many households tapped out at the end of the month. Stop the cycle of energy inefficiency that has the money seeping out of your bank account by installing new, energy efficient HVAC equipment. Before selecting which HVAC unit to buy, make sure to get a manual J report or accurate BTU estimate. With the accurate BTU or tonnage number, you will know exactly what size unit you need. By having the right-sized unit and practicing energy saving techniques, your home will be more comfortable than ever for less cost.