Electronic Thermostat for Hot water heat
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I have a mid-60’s sidesplit with baseboard radiant heat (Weil-McClean boiler). I have been toying with the idea of replacing the old thermostat (Dial type) with a programmable electronic one.
I am wondering whether an electronic thermostat would be compatible with this boiler and whether it would produce much of an energy savings.
I was referred to this board by my son (JAG) who says you guys have all the answers. Hope you can Help.
John.
Replies
Hang in there Dad, They'll find you!!
And Let My Canoe and My Paddle, Be the only Mark over my Grave
thanks Chris I got the answer. looks like it will work but I will wait n see what others have to say about it.
Hope you enjoyed your visit it was great. I always like having you guys over. Give Bren a big kiss and hug for me ill ya? Oh and the same for Christina as well.
As for the chair project it looks like a viable one for us to do. I will look into the wood here and check out some tools as well.
Thanks Son you do make me happy. I just wish the cloud of good fortune would fall on you and make things go better for you.
don't know about your particular system.......I'm guessing it should work....don't know why a simple thermo swap wouldn't.....and the install is real easy.
We put a programable one in years ago....and have liked it very much. Have recommended it to all friends and family too. We have an older leaky house....to old and too leaky to bother sealing up....but we like it...so we'll waste a few bucks on heat and a/c.
The programable is just a convience thing.....set it down at 64 at midnite.....back up to 70 at 5:30......and the cold bath floor is warm when I step out of the shower at 6:30. Lower the temp during the week days when no one but the cats are home........raise it on weekends when we're all home. Just keeps ya from getting out of the recliner.......and we have seen a bit of a savings on the bills. Jeff * Jeff J. Buck/ Buck Construction/ Pittsburgh, PA *
2nd Generation Buck Const, 3rd generation Craftsman
There you go Dad, I knew they'd come through. Now I need to figure out how to store a graphic at execulink...
See you later,
JAG
View Image
And When I must Leave the Great River, Oh Bury Me Close to its wave,And Let My Canoe and My Paddle, Be the only Mark over my Grave
Dear John,
The direct answer to your question is yes. If you are willing to buy the thermostat, read the directions, and program the setback, and let the house get cool for substantial periods every day, there will be some fuel savings for your effort. But there's no magic. Just a colder house hopefully when you won't notice it.
The less direct answer to your question lies here. If you are being punished by high fuel usage, there are probably something very substantial things you can do to fix that. These repairs in the shell of the house generally have dramatic benefits.
Be sure to come back and bring beer. Your son has overrun his tab.
Regards, Fred
[email protected]
Edited 3/24/2002 10:51:29 PM ET by Fred
Edited 3/24/2002 10:52:50 PM ET by Fred
thanks Fred your reply was very useful. I will have to check for some of the leaks you mentioned in your link. Yes those small leaks and other unintentional building errors can lose alot of heatl. good thought I really appreciate it.
As for my son I get first dibbs on those beers. lol He owes me some as well .
Make sure you shut off the power to the complete system before you change it out. You may short out some elevtrical parts if you don't. Then you get to pay me to come fix it! LOL
heheh I will make sure it is shutt off completly then. thanks for your suggestion. I will certainly lok into buying a good thermostat and instal it myslef.
WWhich one do you suggest?
Lotsa good ones out there... can't go wrong with a Honeywell. Be sure and DO NOT buy the cheapest on the shelf as it will most likely be crappy.
Make sure you change the batteries often. Most of them just quit working entirely when the batteries are dead. Can be a nasty surprise to come home to frozen pipes after that vacation to bermuda in January.
I used to have hot water heat, and used a programmable thermostat. Had to have it kick in an hour before we got up so it would be warm by the time we got out of bed. I hated that system, and sure am glad it's gone.
New Honeywell model thermostats don't need batteries - memory is stored on a chip that holds for 30 days or such. If you are worried about frozen pipes/vacation scenario, use a Winter Watchman stat or the like or connect the apropriate NO/NC thermostat to your house's alarm system. Honeywell also has this item for the geeks among us...
http://content.honeywell.com/yourhome/Home_Controller/home.htm
Steve L.
Edited 4/3/2002 3:14:38 PM ET by STEVEL67
Hadn't seen someone else mention this, so. . .
Thermostats come in 24-volt (most common by far), millivolt, and line voltage (usually for electric baseboards but they can be used in central heat as well. Almost all prgrammable units are 24-volts. Look for a little transformer in the utility room, near the boiler. 120 volts in and 24 volts out. Then you can definitely swap out with any new-fangled 24-volt unit. Read the instructions BEFORE purchasing. The operation of some is more intuitive and easy then others.
thanks for that info David. I just learned something new. Any thermostat I should look for over another? I know about the 5 days + 2 and each day needs 2 settings up nad down .. but what else should I look for?
John: As Wet Head Warrior mentioned, Honeywell does a good job with thermostats. Some of the brands you've never heard of have the quality of, well, brands you've never heard of. If the counter guy at the plumbing supply isn't knowledgable enough, ask for the smart guy, working at his desk, who comes out to answer the more detailed questions. Or review the info on Honeywell's website or look at the plumbing supply's catalog to see what's available. Don't bother asking questions at HD unless you have already selected the make and model and your only question is "do you have this in stock?" Good Luck.
David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
thanks for your advice David. I will lok into it and see what happens. So far all the thermostats I have found include the fan setting .. AS you know I dont have a fan nor do I have/need a cooling setting either. Hence the questions and searching goes on. But thanks for suggesting I go visit the Honeywell site. I had not thought of that.
Thanks again.
John