Honeywell Thermostat - EASY question

[Andrew Duane]

Your landlord is right.

If the COOL switch is > This is easy. I live in a building where we have central air run by a

[tyger1147]

This is easy. I live in a building where we have central air run by a Honeywell Thermostat, model unknown (but it is old and one of the dial turn ones with the temp on top and bottom). It also has "HEAT OFF COOL" on one side at the top and "FAN ONLY AUTO" on the other side at the top. My landlord has set it to fan only and says the air still running. The air doesn't feel as cool, he says in reply to my complaint, because the air is not on at that exact moment but that the fan is always on. He says because of this sometimes we will feel "cold" air and other times it will be "cool" to room temperature air. I'm convinced otherwise. I moved in during the horrible heat wave that came through the midwest a month ago and this is the warmest my apartment has been.

The simple question is: If he has one switch set to "COOL" and one switch set to "FAN ONLY", is the A/C still on or not? I always thought the "AUTO" setting along with "HEAT" or "COOL" is the only way to have the air on.

[Travis Jordan]

Yes, the A/C is still on and should run until it reaches the thermostat's set point. The fan will remain on all the time.

[tyger1147]

Ok. Thanks for the input. I guess it probably says "FAN ON" and not "FAN ONLY". That would make more sense. I guess, thinking it said "FAN ONLY" meant that it was, somewhat obviously, ONLY the FAN that was running. But like I said, I guess I must have read it wrong. Thanks for the help.[/quote]

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

Yes, this works well and some say it saves a bit. My fan runs all the time when I am home, but during the day it is off. It keeps the temperature more uniform as well. It does tend to raise the humidity level higher than it would be with A/C alone. But all in all I like it. Probably keeps the air a bit cleaner.

[CL (dnoyeB) Gilbert]

Maybe, but the air that comes out of the ducts on my first floor is cooler than that already in the room. This probably only works if you have a basement. Plus we have a high water table and the basement is always relatively cool. As such the house stays cooler which means the compressor runs less. Still I am not saying the overall cost is less. Some have said that. I am not totally convinced yet. My bill was a bit higher , but this month was a bit hotter.

[Travis Jordan]

For most residential applications running a 1/3 HP (approximately 250 watts) an extra five or ten hours a day won't save any money. In addition to the direct power consumption you are introducing the heat of motor operation into the airstream.

[Travis Jordan]

Sounds like your application is one of the exceptions to the rule. Next time you replace your air handler / furnace get a variable speed one. The ECM drives used in VS systems are much more efficient than conventional motors, and will cost less to run.

[rosie read n' post]

that is how i run my air conditioner, thanks to the guys in this group and their suggestions! FAN ON and COOL.

[Carolina Breeze HVAC]

Thats a T87 stat and your landlord would be correct.