Mercury-Containing Thermostats

Name: Mercury-Containing Thermostats Description: Mercury-containing thermostats use mercury tilt switches. They provide accurate and reliable temperature control, require little or no maintenance, and do no require a power source. They typically last 20-40 years. How to Identify: Mercury thermostats are non-electronic. Electronic thermostats are mercury-free. Amount of Mercury: About 3 grams of mercury is in each mercury tilt switch, and thermostats commonly require 2-6 mercury tilt switches each.

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Electronic thermostats, which are mercury-free, are available. The best alternative is to use what are called programmable thermostats. These thermostats can be programmed to keep the temperature of a house a certain level depending on the time of day and the season. These thermostats are extremely energy and won the U.S. government's Energy Star award.

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Thermostats are generally mounted on walls and easily found. To determine if a thermostat contains mercury, it is necessary to remove the front plate. Mercury-containing thermometers contain one or more small glass vials (about an inch) with mercury. If any mercury vials are visible in the thermostat, the entire thermostat must be removed. Do NOT attempt to take out the vials of mercury.

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Remove the entire thermostat using a screwdriver and a pair of wirecutters and store safely. Contact your heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning wholesaler. Special containers are available at some wholesalers for thermostats. DON'T remove the switches from your thermostats. Certain thermostat recyclers require the thermostats to be removed with the entire housing, backing plate, and face/cover plate still on. The wholesaler consolidates thermostats from heating contractors and mails them to a place where the mercury is removed and recycled.

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Homeowners can send thermostats to a consolidation site. Contact your county or state environmental office or solid waste office for services in your area. Thermostats can be mailed in a sealed plastic zipper bag inside of a envelope mailer that is lined with a bubble pack for extra protection.

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