Thermostat Recommendation?

[LokutusofBorg]

We live in a townhome with the bedrooms on top of the garage and a greatroom/kitchen area that is vaulted, with the hallway to the bedrooms right up at the top. So all the hot air quickly rises and we get a rather large temperature differential between the upstairs and the downstairs.

I've been looking into thermostats a bit and found that they have models that just turn the fan on at certain intervals or whatever. This would do the trick for our place I think, and make it a lot more comfortable.

The only one I can really find that has this feature is the Honeywell 8000. It seems rather expensive, and has a couple features that I don't like (have to take it off the wall to change the batteries, etc.) so I was just wondering if you guys that know this stuff had a couple recommendations on programmable thermostats with fan control? Like what are the cheapest/base models that come with this feature (that are worth buying)?

We have the typical central AC/forced heat (gas) system, cheapy standard unit, nothing special about it.

TIA.

 

[Jumpem]

I have a similiar situation. I usually set the heat to 60F downstairs. Ends up sox to eight degrees warmer upstairs.

My next house will be one story for this and several other reasons.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Yeah, I've had to make compromises on the temperature settings so that the upstairs doesn't get too hot. In the summer that means running the AC more often than my wife would like, and in the winter it means keeping the downstairs colder than I would like.

 

[iGas]

Yeah, I've had to make compromises on the temperature settings so that the upstairs doesn't get too hot. In the summer that means running the AC more often than my wife would like, and in the winter it means keeping the downstairs colder than I would like.

Honeywell 8000 programmable thermostat is a great thermostat.

It will take 4~8 conductors pending your existing system setup, other wise you might need to go to a remote system with battery operation if the current wiring setup doesn't satisfy the requirement (or run a new 10 conduits wire).

IMHO, try balancing the air flow at dampers for each zone, or balance with adjustable registers.

Make sure that the current location of the thermostat is in a central location away from registers, windows, and doors.

 

[ebaycj]

I also have a similar situation. However my house has valves on the vent pipes in the basement, so I can somewhat control the airflow.

Winter = downstairs gets more airflow than upstairs.
Summer = upstairs gets more airflow than downstairs.

Works pretty well, usually no more than a 1-2 degree difference between up/down.

I just set my thermostat at "hold at 68-69-70-71-72" (based on season and preference) all the time, because I like that temp, and could not care less about my power/gas bill.

 

[iGas]

I also have a similar situation. However my house has valves on the vent pipes in the basement, so I can somewhat control the airflow.

Winter = downstairs gets more airflow than upstairs.
Summer = upstairs gets more airflow than downstairs.

Works pretty well, usually no more than a 1-2 degree difference between up/down.

valves = dampers ?

vent pipes = supply air ducts ?

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Honeywell 8000 programmable thermostat is a great thermostat.

It will take 4~8 conductors pending your existing system setup, other wise you might need to go to a remote system with battery operation if the current wiring setup doesn't satisfy the requirement (or run a new 10 conduits wire).

IMHO, try balancing the air flow at dampers for each zone, or balance with adjustable registers.

Make sure that the current location of the thermostat is in a central location away from registers, windows, and doors.

My original intentions were to find a unit that had remote temp sensors, but when I read about the basic "just turn the fan on at certain intervals" type of units, that seemed like it would be perfectly adequate. Plus we live in a rental so running wiring or moving the thermostat isn't an option (it's already in a central place, but it *is* downstairs).

Believe me, I've mucked around with adjusting vents, and trying different temperatures, and it is just too much trouble. I think this little programmable fan unit will do nicely.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

So I've spent several hours researching this now, and never really dug into the prothermostats site. I didn't realize they have a category flag for programmable fan, and you can search specifically for that. Very cool site, I'm pretty impressed.

I've landed on the LuxPro PSPA711. The other one I was looking at is the Aprilaire 8463 which visually really appeals to my geek side, but the "programmable" fan function isn't actually programmable. It's just disabled or enabled (fan been off for 20 minutes? then it'll run it for 10 minutes). The LuxPro actually lets you program how often you want the fan to turn on and even gives it separate time periods that you can configure. Pretty nice. 70 bucks (shipped) is a lot better than the $110 for that Honeywell.

http://www.prothermostats.com/searc...=12&compare_ids[]=112061&compare_ids[]=174866

 

[iGas]

So I've spent several hours researching this now, and never really dug into the prothermostats site. I didn't realize they have a category flag for programmable fan, and you can search specifically for that. Very cool site, I'm pretty impressed.

I've landed on the LuxPro PSPA711. The other one I was looking at is the Aprilaire 8463 which visually really appeals to my geek side, but the "programmable" fan function isn't actually programmable. It's just disabled or enabled (fan been off for 20 minutes? then it'll run it for 10 minutes). The LuxPro actually lets you program how often you want the fan to turn on and even gives it separate time periods that you can configure. Pretty nice. 70 bucks (shipped) is a lot better than the $110 for that Honeywell.

http://www.prothermostats.com/searc...=12&compare_ids[]=112061&compare_ids[]=174866

I'm not familiar with LuxPro products. However, it indicated that the PSPA711 is a single stage thermostat after I perused through their manual, and the Honeywell 8000 is design to accommodates single & double stage system.

 

[ebaycj]

valves = dampers ?

vent pipes = supply air ducts ?

Yes, sorry, I'm not an HVAC tech.

 

[ebaycj]

My original intentions were to find a unit that had remote temp sensors, but when I read about the basic "just turn the fan on at certain intervals" type of units, that seemed like it would be perfectly adequate. Plus we live in a rental so running wiring or moving the thermostat isn't an option (it's already in a central place, but it *is* downstairs).

Believe me, I've mucked around with adjusting vents, and trying different temperatures, and it is just too much trouble. I think this little programmable fan unit will do nicely.

Did you think about just keeping the one you have, and leaving the fan (only fan) on all the time (most, even cheapies, have this setting)? This seems like it would be cheaper than enhancing your landlord's rental property. And you don't care about the long term wear on the furnace because it's not yours.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Did you think about just keeping the one you have, and leaving the fan (only fan) on all the time (most, even cheapies, have this setting)? This seems like it would be cheaper than enhancing your landlord's rental property. And you don't care about the long term wear on the furnace because it's not yours.

I've thought about it yes. The fan uses like 750W to run, though, so that would be a significant hit to the power bill.

EDIT: and if by "enhancing" the landlord's property you're including swapping in this new thermostat, I've actually already done it. I bought a Hunter 44360 a few years ago when we were in an apartment with a manual (lever) thermostat, and it has continued to move with us. I just put the old one back when we move out.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

I'm not familiar with LuxPro products. However, it indicated that the PSPA711 is a single stage thermostat after I perused through their manual, and the Honeywell 8000 is design to accommodates single & double stage system.

I'm not sure what constitutes a double stage system, but I don't think we've ever lived where they had one. As mentioned in reply to ebaycj I've had a Hunter unit that I've been installing in all the rentals we've lived in for the last few years. I'm pretty sure a single stage unit will be fine. I don't expect this thing to last forever or work in every place we live.