Making Sure HVAC Contractors Don’t Miss Mercury Thermostats — PART I
One reason some HVAC techs might struggle with mercury thermostats? No one taught them during training. Even with digital resources available, hands-on practice still matters most. Without real-world experience, mistakes can happen.
Decades have passed since mercury thermostats first appeared. Despite digital versions now dominating the market, a handful still hang in residences and offices nationwide. Old-school units sit quietly, often overlooked, yet hold a few grams of mercury inside their casing. When these thermostats fail, technicians face a quiet challenge: Handle them right to keep our environment safe.
Even when people try hard, mercury thermostats could go unnoticed during repairs or changeouts – here’s how you might change that and boost your chances of finding them.
The Most Common Reasons Mercury Thermostats Get Overlooked
1. Rush Jobs and Tight Schedules
Midcall, juggling one chat while you grab another ring. That old spinning gauge, well, I’ll get to it. You might also put it aside or stash it under your tools, and it becomes that forgotten item that you meant to deal with after that rush job.
2. Your Supply House Doesn’t Have A Green Collection Pail
We’re in thousands of supply houses, especially if they’re a HARDI member. If yours has our green bucket, be sure to know where its location is, and hopefully, depositing a mercury-containing thermostat is your first order of business. If they don’t have one, just click on the link at the end of this blog, and we’ll get one for you.
3. Forgetting to Ask Homeowners
Not every service visit means swapping out old thermostats. When techs come for regular checks or fixes, they often fail to ask if people still keep vintage models in drawers or sheds.
4. What Counts Is Often Unclear
Some older thermostats do not hold mercury at all. Since there is no immediate telltale sign – like a glow under cover – or clear data on specific makers who avoided it, workers could misjudge what ends up in landfills. Just as often, they might stir up false concern over models not known to include mercury, adding risk where none exists.
5. Assuming Someone Else Will Handle It
Big projects involving several trade workers? A heating and air conditioning technician might assume someone else handles the outdated thermostat. Yet others believe the responsibility falls to the electrician or carpenter. Sometimes, no one claims it – so it gets set to the side. We have faith in our HVAC techs, so if you’re one of them, don’t hesitate to step up and take the responsibility.
6. Not Knowing About TRC’s Free Recycling
Despite our decades-long effort, not every contractor realizes groups such as the Thermostat Recycling Corporation run a no-charge, hassle-free recycling program – these serve both tech and homeowners at zero cost. When disposal feels hard, unused thermostats pile up in storage areas. Again, if your company is unaware of our free, easy-to-do recycling process, just reach out to us, and we’ll let you know the nearest recycling center in your territory.
In our next blog installment, we will share some simple tips to help you with the recovery process. For more information, visit www.thermostat-recycle.org.