What does “Temporary Hold” mean on a BG&E thermostat

Question

We live in Baltimore, MD. As we enter Spring, today is the first day it was warm (over 80°) and humid (flash flood around 4:00 PM). We tried to run the AC for a while but the air was not cool. It was more like a fan was blowing ambient air.

I believe the digital thermostat is being operated correctly. We've had it several years and we are doing the same thing as we usually do. The unit is turned On, it set to Cool, and the temp is set below room temp by about 8° or 10°. We noticed the thermostat has a message "Temporary Hold" but we don't know what it means.

Searching BG&E's website does not list any hits for the message. Confer, "temporary hold" site:bge.com.

What does "Temporary Hold" mean on a BG&E digital thermostat? Or more to the point, does it mean BG&E disabled the AC unit?

Answer 1

There may be a way for BGE to disable the ac compressor but that is normally a special radio controlled switch outside. It is also unlikely that they would have done that on a day like today. So there is almost certainly something wrong with your ac unit. First step is to check outside for anything blocking the compressor - leaves etc. Beyond that I don't know - for me it would be time to call the hvac guy.

But the temporary hold is easy. On many thermostats if you override the temperature it is a temporary change until the next programmed change kicks in at a preset time. There is usually a way to do a more permanent hold with another button.

FYI, the reason you couldn't get info from BGE is they're not in the thermostat business. They're in the energy business and peak demand is their biggest concern because it affects profitability. One way they try to lower peak demand is by getting residential users to use automatic setback thermostats to lower ac usage during the day for people who are all out to work or school. The easiest way to do that is by giving away thermostats for free. And if you're a utility doing thousands at a time you can get them private labeled. But they're not really made by bge.