A Primer For The Thermostatically Challenged

If you've ever spent some time in the same room with one of these folks, you know exactly what I mean. Some folks just don't understand what an air conditioning thermostat can and can't do. These thermostatically challenged (or "TC" for short) people might be the nicest folks in any other situation, but if they get the notion that they ought to adjust the thermostat, look out!

The most common mistake TCs make is cranking the thermostat up or down by 10 degrees or more. They think that the bigger the adjustment, the faster the temperature change. Gosh, why were these people never taught any basic science? What makes them think the fan speed is adjustable? Nope, nope, nope, little TCs, there is no fan adjustment on air conditioning systems. The only adjustment is for the temperature, and whether the fan should blow continuously or on automatic.

First, let's look at the temperature setting. All you have to do is set the little pointer on the temperature that you want the room to be. It doesn't do any good to set it at a temperature greater that the level you want, because you will never remember to go back and reset it at the usual temperature once it reaches that level. No, just set it at the temperature you want and let the machinery do its thing, and don't touch it anymore.

Now let's look at the fan control. On nearly all control boxes, there are two fan settings -- auto and continuous. The only time the fan should ever be set on continuous is if you have burned something on the stove and need to blow fresh air into the area; the rest of the time, leave it on auto. There's no way you can stand by the control and turn it on and off when the unit needs the fan to blow the air, so KEEP YER MITTS OFF THE FAN CONTROL !!

This primer ought to settle any arguments that arise about the thermostat setting. If it doesn't, get the repairman to tell those silly TCs to keep away from the controls.  If all else fails, put a lockbox over the thermostat and hide the key.