What Does Hold Mean on a Honeywell Thermostat?

A Hold message on a Honeywell Thermostat tells the thermostat to maintain the HVAC system for the building at a set temperature. The temperature will be maintained until the Hold expires or the temperature is manually changed. A Hold can be temporary or permanent depending on its setting.

A key feature of programmable thermostats is the ability to schedule a heating and cooling cycle. This schedule will tell the thermostat to begin heating and cooling the building at specific times during the day and week. The primary advantage to doing this is that the user can keep their house comfortable, while also saving money on their energy bills. The idea is that the thermostat will be actively running during the hours they are normally at home. Then it will not be working as hard during the hours when they are normally away.

When a user sets a Hold, the thermostat is told to ignore the schedule and set the temperature based on the Hold setting. In other words, a Hold is a command that overrides the set temperature. A hold can be either permanent or temporary. A permanent Hold will keep the temperature held at the set level until it is manually overridden by changing the temperature. It will never expire on its own.

On the the other hand, a temporary Hold will keep the temperature held at the set level for a predetermined time period. After that, the thermostat will resume its regularly scheduled programming. A user can cancel a temporary Hold at any time by manually adjusting the thermostat's set temperature. This will override the hold that is set.

Please note that many Honeywell Thermostats will allow you to increase or decrease the temperature set during a Hold. The Thermostat may have plus (+) and minus (-) buttons for this purpose. Also note that a temporary Hold may be identified as a "Hold Until" setting. Some thermostats may require that a user select a "Permanent Hold" option to make any set Hold permanent. There may also be an option called "Run Schedule" to cancel a Hold and resume the regular schedule. This will all vary depending on the thermostat being used.