Thermostat click - any way to muffle?

I recently switched from a very old school thermostat to a digital, programmable one. It’s great, except that it makes a very audible “CLICK CLICK” whenever it switches the AC on.

Would it be possible to cover the noisy relay in foam tape or something to muffle the sound? There’s a little room inside the unit, but I’m concerned that some of the electrical components might overheat if I fill up the insides with sound-dampening stuff. Has anyone tried this?

FWIW, my thermostat is the Honeywell RTH7500.

I wouldn’t worry about heat buildup at all. I’d worry about the tstat not reading the correct temprature if you insulate it.

ETA I’d imagine that within a few days you’ll be quite used to it. If it’s really that loud you might want to exchange it for a different make/model.
Also I can’t imagine it would be possible to add enough of any kinda of insulation inside the unit to make a noticible decrease in the sound.

Hmm, good point about the temperature reading. I guess I’ll have to live with it.

I got one of these type thermostats about a year and a half ago. Still not used to the annoying clicking noises.

I have a Honywell that clicks…and one that doesn’t. The newer, non-programmable electronic one clicks and gets people’s attention.

My older, programmable Honywell doesn’t make any noise. I’ve never heard it click in the past seven years.

Since air needs to free flow around it, any cover must let air flow through and also the noise. Best I could suggest is to swap it out for different types. You can surely return all the ones you don’t use.

Search thru Honywell products. They advertise certain models as being insulated against the clicking noise. In other words, non-clicking thermostats exist and the ‘‘non-clicking’’ is listed as a ‘‘feature’’.

For example, I pulled this from Honywell. See the list of features:

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/Consumer/Cultures/en-US/Products/Thermostats/Programmable/Professionally-Installed/LineVoltage/Default.htm

Silent relay targets the home automation market

Interesting! Sure enough, the page for my model doesn’t list this “feature.”