Maintenance Tip: Thermostats

The word thermostat comes from the Greek words thermos ("hot") and statos ("standing" or "staying the same"). A thermostat is a device that automatically turns your heating or air conditioning system on and off to maintain the temperature you select.

A thermostat works by sensing the room's air temperature. When the temperature rises above or falls below the setting you have chosen, the thermostat signals the heating or cooling system to turn on. Once the desired temperature is reached, it turns the system back off.

It is important to remember that setting the thermostat higher in the winter will not make the room heat up faster, and setting it lower in the summer will not make the room cool down faster. The thermostat simply controls when the heating or cooling system turns on and off to maintain the selected temperature.