Thermostats help us regulate the temperature inside the terrarium. There are plenty of choices available, and the wide range of possibilities is often confusing. Some Thermostats (like the Exo Terra 600W Thermostat) even allow you to choose between different options! To help you decide which one is the best in your situation, it is essential to know the characteristics of each type.

The main difference between on/off, dimming, and pulse proportional thermostats lies in how they control the temperature and manage the power supply to the connected equipment. In turn, this will influence which types of heating devices they are best used with.

On/Off Thermostats
On/Off thermostats are the simplest and most common type of thermostats. They work by turning the connected heating or cooling equipment completely on or off when the temperature reaches the setpoint. When the temperature rises above the desired level, the thermostat activates the equipment to provide heating or cooling until the temperature drops back below the setpoint, at which point the equipment is turned off again. On/Off thermostats are straightforward and easy to operate and tend to be the least expensive type of thermostat. However, due to their binary nature (on or off), they can cause more significant temperature swings. It also makes them less suitable for heating bulbs due to the stress caused to the filament, often reducing the bulb's lifespan drastically in the process.

Dimming Thermostats
Dimming thermostats are more sophisticated than on/off thermostats, as they provide a way to modulate the power supplied to the connected equipment. Rather than just turning the equipment fully on or off, dimming thermostats can vary the intensity of the heating or cooling output, allowing for more precise, stable temperature control and reduced temperature swings. Furthermore, by varying the power supplied to the equipment, they can achieve better energy efficiency compared to on/off thermostats. On top of that, it makes them more suitable to use with heat bulbs, as the dimming setting brings less stress to the bulb's filament. Due to their complexity, they are often more expensive and more difficult to operate than their on/off counterparts.

Pulse Proportional Thermostats

Pulse proportional thermostats are an advanced type of thermostat that uses pulses of power to control the connected equipment. These thermostats modulate the power supply by using timed pulses of energy to achieve the desired temperature control. Pulse proportional thermostats can maintain the temperature within very narrow limits, providing highly accurate temperature regulation and efficient power usage. Since they avoid abrupt on/off cycles and provide precise control over the heat output, pulse proportional thermostats are the least likely to cause thermal stress on connected bulbs, making them suitable for heat and basking bulbs. Because they are the most sophisticated, they are often more expensive than other types of thermostats.