How to turn off a thermostat when the system smells like burning hair
The thermostat controls only allow setting the system to heat or cool at specific temperatures, making it impossible to shut down the malfunctioning system without accidentally triggering the HVAC. This leaves people unable to stop a dangerous burning smell or prevent the unit from randomly turning back on.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Setting the mode to off using the mode button
- 2Turning off the breakers to the system at the electrical panel
- 3Opening the window and turning the fan on to vent the heat out.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The fan and/or the whole system is dead. I smell burning hair when the fan tries to turn on so I absolutely cannot run it. The problem is that I can only set it to heat or cool at specific temperatures.”source ↗
“If i set it too low the ac turns on. and i don't want to have to get up every hour to check that it isn't about to burn the house down.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why is a brand new aftermarket thermostat already failing?
- 4Thermostat doesn't work after opening it up
- 3How to replace an old mercury thermostat with a programmable one
- 5How to fix burnt water heater thermostat wire
- 4New HVAC unit won't heat and makes clicking sounds
- 3Why is my thermostat voltage fluctuating?