What would I gain from a better thermostat?

Steamhead (in transit)

to see if the "cycles per hour" is correct. T-stats come set to run forced hot air (6 cph). Set it to no more than 3, if you have not already done so.

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Al Hendrickson_24

Thanks again for all the help I've gotten this year already!

This is our second winter in our one pipe steam heated home (natural gas fired Burnham Independence, etc.) It has an older Lux TX500 programmable stat. It has 4 daily setpoints on a 5/2 day schedule. I've figured out how to program it OK. It holds its program and seems to keep the house within a degree or two of setpoint.

People here seem to have a low opinion of these "Big Box Store" thermostats. So what am I missing? Should I replace it? With what and why? Will I be more comfortable? Will I save money? (Saving money would be good.)

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

J.C.A._3

So...

Does it work for YOU?

If the answer is YES...do nothing.

Think about it this way. A thermostat is a switch...that does what it's told. If the current one is doing that, and you're happy with it....why change it?

Don't over think too much. If it works for you...continue. Chris

Brad White_202

I agree with Chris

A thermostat is just a switch which saves you from pinching together a couple of wires when you start feel cold and releasing them just before you feel comfortable....

The timeclock/setback thermostats are really just a convenience.

(They are "the code" here in MA, but the assumption is that if people are too lazy to get up and change the channel, they will spend forty-five minutes looking for the remote, so by law we cannot use T-87's in new work.)

The amount of energy they save depends on too many things to list here. One way they save is if you forget to turn the heat down when you go away for the weekend...you come home and your cat has the windows open, has friends over and has raided the liquor cabinet.... ask me the costs, not just money and repairs but the damage to society.

Al Hendrickson_25

OK, I do use the programming feature. We keep it cold at night and, it's nice to have the heat kick in twenty minutes before the alarm goes off . . . and it's nice coming home from work just as the house is getting comfy again too.

Is there a reliability issue with the Lux units? The rotary programming switch on mine is a little flaky but it still works. Do the more advanced units, the ones that "learn," save a discernible amount of energy by turning up the heat at just the right moment . . . or are they ineffective because outside conditions vary so much? Are the more expensive stats easier to program? (Back in the early '90s I set-up and maintained a large industrial building with the old DOS-based Trane Tracer 100 system, and it was an absolute royal pain.)

There must be a reason for the more expensive thermostats.

Al Hendrickson_27

Thanks! There is a "swing" setting on the thermostat. It's set at 4. I don't know if that means a 4 degree deadband, or if it holds the stat back for 4 minutes per degree.

I've never noticed the boiler coming on more than two or three times per hour, even in cold weather, so I think it's OK.

The local Menards had an updated version of the stat on clearance for $15, so I bought a spare. If mine goes bad, I'll just have to snap the new one on the existing base.

Bob Bona_4

the

Honeywell TH8000 series stats are nice. Touchscreen, intuitive programming setup, and ability to sense and display the outdoor temps and humidity with the right model and an outdoor sensor.

Want to get way cool? Honeywell just came out with a hi-def Prestige color stat. No need for user's manual, it guides you through every feature. It has wireless capability to tie in outdoor sensors too.

The home center Honeywell stats do not have all the fine tuning set up levels as the pro's use. (coming from the Honeywell rep).

So, yeah, you get what you pay for here.

Unknown

Since you use the setback

feature. There is one advantage of buying a good thermostat like a honeywell 6 or 8000. They have a learning algorythm. It learns your heating system so when you tell it to be at a certain temperature at a certain time, after a week or so of learning it will have that temp just at the right time. This can be a big help with systems that have a lot of lead and lag in them.
TONY

Al Hendrickson_28

Thanks!

Thanks! I looked over the installation manual for the TH8000 thermostat. It has an incredible amount of flexibility and programs for all kinds of heating and cooling equipment, fan settings, filter notifications, etc. The only extra thing that might apply to my single pipe steam system is their "Adaptive Intelligent Recovery," which learns when to turn on the heat so that the programmed setpoint is reached on time. I have my cheapie stat programmed to turn on 15 minutes before the alarm rings and fifteen minutes before I leave work to come back home.

I can live with that. At least the radiators are getting hot by the time I get in the shower.

tim smith

I tell people that if it works and you understand it then

keep it. I am not much of a fan of the Lux but it works, at least for awhile. I would stay with it for now. I too like the Honeywell but is it worth the difference, not always. Most the time customers have us supply and install them just because of the convenience of us having on the truck and the knowledge to do it. But when they ask is there much difference between the stat at big box and the one we have at twice the price, I have to say not really much. Tim

Al Hendrickson_29

Thanks! I was looking over some of the more advanced Honeywell units at the store too. If they weren't made in communist China (just like the Lux) I probably would have made the upgrade. Heck, for all I know, all the brands are made side-by-side in the same factory.

If I could find one made in the USA, I would have bought it on the spot. I would have been willing to pay a major premium too. . . but apparently we don't know how to make thermostats here anymore . . . sigh.

Mark Custis

We use

White-Rodgers, supply house only. In 30 years or when they first went digital, (which ever is longer) I have only had one drop a program, (not counting the one lightning blew through the dining room).

I like the learn the house point and use it in wet applications. I have never gotten the set back tempurature from other than a comfort issue. BTUH is BTUH.

I will look at the Honeywell stuff that you guys are mentioning. Ran into a string of program droppers about the time I was learning to open the shipping box on my comadore computer.

Thinking of that Trane set up makes my head hurt.

I guess I will have to look at the laptop to the house from the airport stuff if someone wants to buy one.