Thermostat Recall Issued Due to Risk of Fires, Property Damage

More than 1.1 million heating and cooling thermostats have been recalled due to a risk that the batteries may leak onto the circuit boards, potentially causing fires and a burn hazard for users.  

A Home Heating and Cooling Thermostats recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on April 30, following at least seven reports of problems, including at least two cases involving property damage. To date no injuries have been reported.

The recall includes the following White-Rodgers Home Heating and Cooling thermostat models sold under a variety of brand names, including: “COMFORTSENTRY,” “DICO,” “Emerson,” “Frigidaire,” “Maytag,” “Nutone,” “Partners Choice,” “Rheem,” “Ruud,” “Unico,” “Water Furnace,” “Westinghouse,” “White-Rodgers” and “Zonefirst.”

The thermostats are white and have a blue lighted display screen with a battery door on the top left corner. On the front of the units there are three or four buttons on the right as well as below the display screen. The affected models do not show a battery icon on the top left corner of the display screen.

The recalled thermostats were manufactured in China under White-Rodgers of St. Louis, Missouri, a division of Emerson Climate Technologies, and were sold at heating ventilation and air conditioning equipment manufacturers and distributors as well as hardware stores nationwide from January 2006 through December 2013 for between $30 and $70.

The CPSC recommends that customers check their thermostat for one of the above name brands and also check to see if a battery is shown on the display screen. If the battery icon is not displayed customers should contact White-Rodgers at 888-624-1901 or visit them online at www.white-rodgers.com to receive a free repair or replacement thermostat.