Most of the time, controlling your Stroudsburg home’s temperature is fairly easy. This is especially true if you have a programmable thermostat. While you’re likely familiar with many of your thermostat’s settings and modes, there can be a few modes that are mysterious and potentially concerning. One such thermostat mode is called recovery mode. The good news is that recovery mode isn’t usually something that should cause concern. After you read this article from your friends at R.J. Groner Inc., you’ll be better able to understand how your thermostat works to keep you comfortable.
Programmable and Manual Thermostats
A thermostat is an essential part of every heating and cooling system. When choosing a thermostat, you can choose between a programmable thermostat and a manual thermostat. Manual thermostats allow you to set a single temperature that the system will maintain until you change the temperature. Programmable thermostats, on the other hand, allow you to select multiple temperatures that you would like the system to achieve at various points throughout the day. For example, if your home is usually empty during the day while you’re at work, you can set the thermostat to a different temperature so that your system doesn’t have to work as hard to heat and cool your home when no one is present. One way a programmable thermostat is able to achieve these different temperatures is with recovery mode.
Getting Your Home Ready
Well before the time when you want to change the temperature in your home, your HVAC system needs to prepare for the task. During the winter, if you’ve scheduled your thermostat to increase the temperature of your home by 10 degrees at 5 p.m., the system can’t simply suddenly raise the temperature 10 degrees right at 5. To make sure the temperature is 10 degrees warmer right when you get home, your system will begin heating your home long before this time.
Since this gradual heating cycle is necessary but technically outside of the schedule that you set, your thermostat has to be able to inform you of what it’s doing if you arrive home before the temperature increase is complete. The way most programmable thermostats do this is by displaying that the system is in “recovery mode.” After the system increases the temperature to the desired point, the system will exit recovery mode and operate normally.
How Long Does Recovery Mode Last?
At R.J. Groner Inc., homeowners often call us with concerns that the recovery cycle is lasting longer or shorter than expected. When it comes to the length of your system’s recovery mode, the answer is “it depends.” Different thermostats approach recovery mode in different ways. Some thermostats are programmed to utilize recovery mode as little as possible, meaning they will run your system more consistently for a shorter period of time. Other thermostats tend to spread the temperature increase over a longer period of time, meaning your system may be in recovery mode for an hour or more. Other factors, including the previous temperature setting, the outside temperature, and the condition of your HVAC system, all help determine how long your system’s recovery mode will last.
Possible Problems
In most cases that R.J. Groner Inc. sees, recovery mode is completely normal and harmless. However, there are a few instances when your system’s recovery mode can malfunction. Since your thermostat is the device that actually triggers the recovery mode, a problem with your thermostat is the most common cause of a recovery mode problem. If your thermostat uses batteries, it’s possible that you simply need to replace the batteries so that your thermostat can function properly. If you have recently changed the settings on your thermostat, it’s also a good idea to make sure that you didn’t set an incorrect time in the schedule. A smart thermostat may have issues with recovery mode if there is a problem with the Wi-Fi connection that causes the thermostat to reset.
Your Heating and Cooling Experts
No matter which type of thermostat you have in your Stroudsburg-area home, we can take care of your heating and cooling needs at R.J. Groner Inc.. In addition to thermostats, we can repair air conditioners, maintain furnaces, install water heaters, remove drain clogs, detect leaks, and perform commercial HVAC service. Our company’s history reaches back more than 70 years, and during that time, we’ve continued with the same philosophy of always working with professionalism and integrity. That’s why we’re able to maintain an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and consistently receive five-star customer reviews. To learn more about how your thermostat works, contact us at R.J. Groner Inc. today.
