What is the difference between thermocouple and thermostat?

Answer 1

A thermocouple is a device which generates an electrical charge when

heated. It is often used on a boiler to indicate that the pilot light

is on and hot, so it should be safe to allow gas to pass to the main

burner for heating water, your house, etc. Should the pilot light go

out, the thermocouple will sort of "tell" the boiler to shut off the

gas, as it isn't safe to fire up.

A thermostat is used as a switch, which goes on and off at a certain

temperature. For example, in a boiler it will tell the boiler that the

water in the circuit is plenty hot enough and that it doesn't need to

be heated any more, in your house it will tell your central heating

that the room is warm enough and doesn't need heating any more and in

your car it would say that your engine is too hot and that the radiator

valve should open, and perhaps the cooling fan should turn on.