Steam Heat, do I have the right thermostat? Special Adjustments?

davevarga

I have a three flr 1920's built house with single pipe steam heat.  I bought a 'good' thermostat five years ago that was supposed to be good for steam heat.  It is a White-Rodgers 1F97-371 unit, with a remote sensor. 

I am asking questions because in this cold weather, the boiler <strong>seems to cycle on really frequently</strong>. I have the temp set at 68 and the boiler cycles on at 68 and after 10-15 mins, stops at 68. I guess the numbers displayed do not trigger the unit, but the actual specific 'micro' temperature must trigger it on.

For reference, during the fall with milder temperatures at 68 the boiler would turn on and it would stop at 68 or 69 and the temp might display 15 minutes later at 70 or 71, then start dropping down. That makes sense.

But now it is colder.

Question, do I have the right thermostat and are there adjustments to the thermostat that I need to make?  Is there a way to reduce the frequency of cycles, maybe let it drop to 67 before it turns on, but when it turns on , let it heat to 70?  Does this make sense? I want to be energy efficient.  Thanks...!!

Jamie Hall

The White Rogers

have an anticipator setting which you can try playing with -- higher numbers give longer cycles, at the possible expense of more uneven heat.  For steam, try starting somewhere around 30 and see what happens...

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It's a perfectly good thermostat.  No problem there.

davevarga

Special Adjustments?

Jamie,

So rereading the manual I see the anticipation on the unit goes from 1-40, factory default is 5, which is what I have had it on for 5 years.

So if I up it to 30 like you said, that means longer cycle times, more temp variation in the house. Is the general consensus that by sacrificing some temp consistancy you gain more energy efficiency?



Thx... Dave

Jamie Hall

Good heavens

I have not idea what the general consensus would be!  But I would say, yes, there would be some gain in efficiency -- at some expense in comfort.  Everything is a compromise!