accurate thermostat to check exact temperature in each room

Rental Property Investor · NJ · Member since 2019 · 442 posts · 40 votes

As winter approached, we all know about all the phone calls we get from tenants that the heat is not heating up the apartment enough, not to mention the big percentage of them that when we come to check it out the windows are open< ,

but I was looking for an accurate thermostat that I can carry around and get the accurate temperature to know what the temperature really is.

I want a very accurate one

Thank you

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

Quote from @Sami Gren:

I don't think you need a super-accurate, expensive thermometer. Any decent thermometer will get you within a degree of actual room temperature. You can get four decent thermometers with excellent reviews for under $30. Place them in four different locations, wait 30 minutes, and read the room.

It's not unusual for tenants to complain about a rental being cold, but they'll refuse to put on a sweater. I have teenage daughters that like to wear shorts and tank tops, then complain about how cold the house is.

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Richard F.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
Aloha,
Rather than a thermometer to give you only the current temp, I recommend you get a temperature data logger such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/Elitech...
You place this in a room for 24 - 48 hours and it will chart the temperature over time, clearly showing when HVAC cycles on and off. Get several and put them in multiple rooms to see the differential in rooms at the end of a duct run or that have more windows/less insulation. I used something similar all the time when I was a PM in the Midwest. Tenants just do not understand that furnace/AC will not just bring the home to the temp they set. Usually about a 20 degree difference from ambient is the best any system can accomplish.
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Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
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Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
3y
@Sami Gren
What’s more important than any device is where you put it. As a room can fluctuate significantly from the windows to the innermost part of the room. Typically you want something near the center of the room and not too low or high
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Sami Gren:

I don't think you need a super-accurate, expensive thermometer. Any decent thermometer will get you within a degree of actual room temperature. You can get four decent thermometers with excellent reviews for under $30. Place them in four different locations, wait 30 minutes, and read the room.
It's not unusual for tenants to complain about a rental being cold, but they'll refuse to put on a sweater. I have teenage daughters that like to wear shorts and tank tops, then complain about how cold the house is.
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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Sami Gren
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Rental Property Investor · NJ · Member since 2019 · 442 posts · 40 votes
3y
Quote from @Richard F.:

Aloha,
Rather than a thermometer to give you only the current temp, I recommend you get a temperature data logger such as this:
https://www.amazon.com/Elitech...
You place this in a room for 24 - 48 hours and it will chart the temperature over time, clearly showing when HVAC cycles on and off. Get several and put them in multiple rooms to see the differential in rooms at the end of a duct run or that have more windows/less insulation. I used something similar all the time when I was a PM in the Midwest. Tenants just do not understand that furnace/AC will not just bring the home to the temp they set. Usually about a 20 degree difference from ambient is the best any system can accomplish.

Thank you so much for that link, cool device I will definitely check it out.
I would also appreciate if you can explain what you wrote that the temperature difference from thermostat is 20 degrees, because in my house when it I set on 73 the rooms actually reach that temperature
Thank you
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Richard F.
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Sami Gren:

Thank you so much for that link, cool device I will definitely check it out.
I would also appreciate if you can explain what you wrote that the temperature difference from thermostat is 20 degrees, because in my house when it I set on 73 the rooms actually reach that temperature
Thank you
Well, I misspoke somewhat, having not worked with any furnaces for about 25 years here! AC's will generally not raise the ambient temp by more than 20 or so degrees. Tenants want the house at 65, so turn it all the way down, but it's 98 and humid outside...not gonna happen. Same for heating, although the range is more than the 20 I mentioned, can be 40 -60 degree rise or more with newer units, between the intake and the outflow, AT the furnace; however you likely will lose some of that gain for a variety of reasons including length of duct run; are the ducts insulated or not; is the space properly insulated, no insulation, or somewhere in between? This all results in tenants turning the thermostat up as high as it will go, wanting 90 degrees, but if you are having a 10 degree, windy day, and have an old, poorly insulated space, you will be lucky to get the space to 70.
The nice thing about using the loggers, you have a nice graph that will show exactly what happens over time so you can accurately assess the performance, proving to the tenant that you are (hopefully) meeting the minimum temperature requirements for housing in your locale.
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