Thousands of thermostats recalled due to fire hazard

Thousands of thermostats sold across the U.S. are being recalled due to a fire hazard, officials with the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced last week in a recall notice.

About 135,000 Emerson-branded SensiWiFi thermostats were sold at stores and heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment distributors in America between April 2014 and December 2016. Officials said in a recall notice Dec. 12 that wires on the devices can contact household line voltage, causing damage to the thermostat and posing a fire hazard.

The company that imported the devices, White-Rodgers, a division of Emerson Electric Co., has received eight reports of burn damage to the thermostats in question, officials said.

The recalled thermostats, model numbers 1F86U-42WF or UP500W, have the word “Emerson” printed on the front of them and a date code between 1416 and 1536 on the back, according to CPSC. The thermostats are white and have LCD screens with three buttons below that. To the right of the screens are arrows and menu buttons.

People who have the recalled thermostats were asked to contact White-Rodgers to determine whether their devices fall under the recall and to get instructions on how to repair or replace the thermostats.

Officials said no injuries have been reported because of the defective thermostats.

Cox Media Group