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Proper thermostat location is key to maximizing your home’s energy efficiency and keeping your heating bill low, but where is the best location for your thermostat? What are the factors that create an excellent thermostat location? What areas should you avoid? Find the answers to these questions and more in this article.
Should a Thermostat Be in a Central Location?
Keeping your thermostat towards the middle of the house, away from windows, should be your top priority when considering thermostat location.
A single pane of glass has an R-value, or insulation value, of 1. Most residential windows have two panes of glass, giving them an R-value of 2. When you compare this to the average R-value of an exterior wall, around 20, you can see why the coldest part of a room is next to the window.
If your thermostat were next to a window or a door, it would get temperature readings that were inconsistent with the rest of the house. This would cause your heating system to activate much more often than necessary to achieve the temperature you had set. The more your heat turns on, the more expensive your energy bill will be.
A central thermostat location allows for the most accurate temperature readings, and leads to more efficient energy use and lower heating bills.
Should a Thermostat Be Near HVAC or Heat Sources?
When considering your thermostat placement, it is essential to determine whether or not heat sources, air conditioning, or other ventilation units will impact it.
Having your thermostat too close to a heat source can cause your thermostat to get readings that are warmer than the room’s average. Inaccurate readings can cause your heat to activate too infrequently, which leaves your home cold.
Should a thermostat be near an air return or intake vent? If possible, you should keep thermostats away from any ventilation unit. The moving air around these units can cause your thermostat to read the air as colder than the room’s average, and activate your heating system excessively, and cost more money.
How High Up a Wall Should a Thermostat Be?
To get the most accurate average temperature reading of your room, it is essential to consider the best thermostat placement on your wall.
Since hot air rises and cold air sinks, if your thermostat is too high up on your wall, you may get a warmer reading than is accurate for your room. Similarly, if your thermostat is too low, you may get a colder reading than the room feels.
If you position your thermostat in a way that reads temperatures as either warmer or colder than what they really are, you end up with an uncomfortable, inefficient home.
For example:
- A thermostat that is too low on your wall will get a reading that is colder than your room truly feels; this will cause your heat to activate unnecessarily, and result in excessive heating costs and a space that feels warmer than the thermostat indicates.
- A thermostat placed too high will get a reading warmer than your room feels, which results in a heating system not activating enough and a cold house.
The best thermostat location on a wall is 52-60 inches from the floor. Installing your thermostat within this height range ensures the most accurate temperature readings for how the room feels.
The Best Location for a Smart Thermostat
Smart thermostats, like the 6iE Smart WiFi Thermostat have advanced technology and cutting-edge features, but their fundamentals remain very similar to their analog counterparts.
Whether equipped with smart technology or not, your best thermostat location is centrally located within your room, away from windows and doors, and between 52-60 inches above the floor.
By installing your smart thermostat within these parameters, you enable the technology to work as accurately as possible, which can help optimize your home’s energy efficiency and minimize your heating costs.
Choose Warmup for Consistent Temperatures and High-Tech Thermostats
With more than two million heating systems sold worldwide, Warmup’s cutting-edge products have kept homes warm, and heating bills cool for over 25 years.
Consistently at the forefront of the industry, Warmup’s 6iE Smart WiFi Thermostat is the first underfloor heating thermostat to use smartphone touchscreen technology. Using Warmup’s innovative MyHeating App, SmartGeo technology, and Early Start functionality, 6iE owners can optimize their home’s energy efficiency.
The 6iE Smart WiFi Thermostat uses local weather forecasts to activate your heating system at precisely the right time to keep your home consistently comfortable using the least amount of energy possible. Don’t want to heat an empty house while you’re away but don’t want to return to a cold home either? Never fear; the 6iE is here. Using SmartGeo technology, the 6iE thermostat intuitively turns the heat down when you leave and back up when you’re heading home.
With Warmup’s innovative products, you really can have the best of both worlds!