thermostat

Deciding what to keep your thermostat set to is an important decision for your budget and your home. At ADA Heating and Air, we want to keep you informed about the pros and cons for using the settings on your heating and air conditioning system and their fan controls. We hope that this information will remove any confusion and help you keep your home comfortable throughout the year.

Leaving the Thermostat Switch Fan ON

If you choose to leave the fan setting to ON this will keep the fan running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter what you have your heating or cooling system set to. There are definite Pros and Cons to doing this.

Leaving the Fan set to the ON position ensures that the air in your home is moving and being filtrated through the HVAC system and is therefore cleaning it. If you don’t have the Fan set to ON, the air will not be filtrated and cleaned by your system. By keeping the Fan set to ON it will also increase the reliability of your temperature setting because it will help to evenly distribute the heating and cooling of the air in your home. This also means less stops and starts for the fan which would lead to it lasting longer.

On the downside, leaving the Fan set to ON is very expensive because leaving it running non-stop can cost up to $50 per month. Also, since the air in your home would be constantly filtering through the system you will need to change your filters much more frequently or your furnace filter will become clogged quickly. If you leave the Fan set to ON during the winter months, the air coming out of your vents may feel colder because the air temperature and the space temperature will be similar.

Fan set to AUTO

If you set the Fan on your HVAC system to AUTO, then the fan will only run when the system tells it to. During the heating cycle, it is controlled by either a limit circuit or a timer circuit. The fan turns on around 40 seconds after the furnace burner lights and will go off approximately one minute after the desired temperature is reached. When cooling, it will run only when the air conditioner is running.

Some benefits of setting the Fan to AUTO include saving energy. Your system will use less energy because the fan will run the least amount of time and at a slower speed for heating versus cooling. The furnace filter will last much longer as well.

On the downside, running the fan less means that the distribution of heating and cooling will not be as evenly distributed. When the desired temperature on the thermostat is met, the fan will stop moving air into other parts of your home. More fan stops and starts will also mean that it will endure more wear and tear.

At ADA Heating and Air, we want heating and cooling your home to be energy and cost efficient while making your home comfortable. We offer many services and products including American Standard AC & Heating Products. Whether you are looking for a new system, repairing your current system or in need of HVAC maintenance, our professionals service the following areas: Danville, Nicholasville, Versailles, Lancaster, Lexington, Winchester, Harrodsburg, Stanford and the surrounding areas and look forward to helping you with all of your HVAC needs.

By | 2017-08-02T01:20:32+00:00 January 5th, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Should My Thermostat Switch be on Auto or On?

About the Author: