Best WiFi Thermostat for Steam Heating?

PhilKulkarni

I have a one pipe single zone steam system that heats a three story home.

My Nest stat does not have CPH setting so I have installed a time delay relay in series between the pressuretrol and the burner. The relay works on 24v AC that I have tapped off from the transformer that powers the boiler circuits. The time delay relay is set to start when the pressure drops to 0.6PSI. Since I can adjust the time delay in second increments, the cut in pressure setting is trivial. With trial and error using dip switches I have introduced a delay of 4mins and 34 secs which is a few secs before the Bigmouth main vent opens. Thus when the burner comes on the steam does not have to expel the air at the beginning of each cycle.

Despite a severe winter this year in the NYC area my gas bill has been flat during Jan. and Feb. The burner cycles 4-5 times an hour early in the morning when it is heating the house from 65 degrees to 70 degrees. At this setting my third floor temperature reaches 68 degrees. The Nest is very accurate but on warm days I do get an overshoot of 1 degree or more.

Doom

apraetor wrote (about the ecobee 3):
"you can set minimum cycle duration, minimum time between cycles, and swing (0.5-3.0F in 0.5F increments)"

I'm actually thinking I would like a maximum cycle duration. Just bought a house in NYS with steam and based on what I observed in the first few days, it runs the boiler much longer than needed to warm up the radiators, even in 1 degree increment. Does it let you do that?

Also, has anyone used an ecobee 4? Does it have the same features?

nicholas bonham-carter

My experience with the Ecobee was disappointing, primarily with the signal penetration from base to remote sensor through the several internal brick walls in an 7 unit 1885 apartment house.
The Honeywell VisionPro with a remote sensor (in the most exposed room), was the best solution for me, and I need no timers, or other add on gadgets to make it work well. Why use any thermostat which needs such modification to do its job?
I suspect that when you use temperture setbacks, and have to burn extra gas to recover, that there may be overshoot. Setting a constant lower temperature would be more comfortable.
If you like tinkering with the system, then use a low pressure gauge to verify that the air is escaping through the main vents with a backpressure lower than 2 ounces.—NBC

Doone

I have the lux geo on my one pipe nyc 3 story with WM EG55 steam boiler. You can regulate the diff to as low as a quarter of a degree and there is another setting for min time off. I calibrate the temp minus 1 degree to account for the 3rd floor differential. My gortons have been balanced and in place for over 30 years. The geo is capable to be used on a 2 wire system and without a c wire. It powers itself for wifi with 2 lithium batteries which will last the heating season if set to the optimized profile. The app works with android or iOS and includes a feature that reports run time per day by hour, heat off (failure), and is 7day, 4 periods per day programmable. There is no subscription fee to use the server. I am very satisfied with its performance, degree of ease and usability, and has many settings available to customize to specific applications.

Latest street pricing is 65 to 95 with utility rebates available in some markets.

It took 15 min to install and program.

Here is a link to a review complete with photographs of all screens.

https://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/2015/12/review-lux-geo-wifi-thermostat/