Dispelling thermostat ignorance

Here’s a bit of ignorance I often see displayed even here at MHCC, where our people are smarter(?) than average…

I walk into a hot room (almost certainly in the Teen Center) and find that the thermostat for the air conditioner is set at 65 degrees. Or 60. Or 50.

The reasoning? (Should I say “reasoning”?) “If I turn the thermostat down, the heat pump will super-cool the air, and it will get cooler FASTER!”

Well actually…the thermostat merely tells the heat pump when to stop (and start too). THAT’S ALL IT DOES!!! You can’t make the unit work harder or put out colder air. I’m sorry, but this is just the way it is.

Of course, if you set it at 50 and then leave the building, it may actually cool the building to 50 overnight…at great expense to us!

So…how about setting it to the temperature you’d like to end up with?

May 4, 2008 · Filed Under Silly insane rants

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