Maybe another try at getting home thermostat

[Brent Bolin]

Just before winter hit my old Maple Chase thermostat died.

So I thought I'd go out and buy a big brand name... Honeywell

Purchased 5-1-1 Day Programmable Thermostat - RTH6400D

To my surprise this thermostat didn't have an option to set the temperature difference to startup. The old Maple Chase I think had a difference variance to 1 to 3 degrees.

So now using the new thermostat I believe the furnace cycles to often. Keeps the house at a more stable temperature level, at the expense of the furnace kicking on and off.

I've looked around and found White-Rodgers/Emerson 1F97-0671 7 Day

5/1/1 Day Non-Programmable

This thermostat looks like it only has a variance of -

Heat (SS1, MS2) 0.4=B0F 0.6=B0F 1.7=B0F Cool (SS1, MS2) 0.9=B0F 1.2=B0F 1.7=B0F

Any body have any suggestions.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, You want +/- 3 deg. swing? Isn't that too much? If furnace cycles on/off too frequently you may have to beef up your house insulation. Our Honeywell Vision Pro 8000 thermostat and furnace, a/c system cycles no more than 3 times an hour even in dead coldest winter days. Same with a/c. Or your furnace may be over sized(bad thing)

[BQ340]

Some have a switch labeled "Water/Gas" or similiar that changes the swing slightly.

MikeB

[Brent Bolin]

Not sure if I would use +/- 3 setting, but maybe +/- 2

I did blow in about 6-8 inches of Owens Corning AtticCat in the attic this spring. Can't do much about the walls without a big effort.

Just seems to me the furnace kicks on and off more then it should.

[Bob F]

It could be that your thermostat is too close to a heat register. Closing that register might help.

[Oren]

Or look behind the T-stat. A hole larger than necessary for the wire needs to be sealed (caulk) around the wire. Heat will travel in the wall cavity and cause a T-stat to act intermittently.

[JIMMIE]

Yeah, I had that problem, closed off a register for years, this heped some, then found the diode that is used as a heat sensor and put a blanket of white glue on it. It doesn't see the temp changes quite as quickly. This in combination of closing the register worked pretty good. Eventually I had to get a new HVAC sytem and relocated the T'stat at that time..

Jimmie

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, One reason I have a wireless 'stat. I can put it any where in the house.

[hrhofmann]

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You should be happy that the temperature is more constant.

[terry]

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But are not modern thermostats designed to be more sensitive and react more quickly to temperature change. Unfortunately if the thermostat controls a furnace it may cause it it cut in and run more frequently; that sounds like it may be less efficient? i.e. Furnace cutting in and running from cold and then shutting down again without having run for any length of time at full temperature? Thus possibly using more fuel?

[Michael B]

Do you have a house built around 1955-70? If so, you may have no insulation in the walls, the gas was more expensive to meter than supply.

Blow> I did blow in about 6-8 inches of Owens Corning AtticCat in the attic

[Brent Bolin]

Yes I do. Think the age of the house is 41 years old. When I have painted in the past I can see insulation close to the power outlets. So I do believe there is insulation, but probably not very much. Also no insulation in the crawl space. I have been reluctant to do anything in the crawl space do to mold.

It's a possibility to look at blowing insulation into the walls. Probably something I would want to tackle when the next interior pant party(this summer) happens.

How well does blown in insulation fall down the wall when there is some existing faced insulation? Note electrical conduit all comes down the walls from the attic.

[Tony Hwang]

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There ane many system option settings and one is limiting the number of cycles as well as paise between cycles. higher end programmable ones have quite a bit of brain.

[Tony Hwang]

Energy audit is worthwhile expenditure. If you upgrade the rebate will pay for it.

[RonB]

We installed a White-Rogers 1F85-277 in a new home about 1-1/2 years ago. Easy to program and no complaints. However, this particular model runs a two-stage system so it might not be suitable for your use. I believe the variance is limited to 1 or 2 degrees and it was set for 1. We are pretty well insulated so we don't notice frequent cycles unless the temperature is extreme.

This thermostat has a nice setback feature. We program so the temperature can drop to 60 at night, during the winter (it never does). However, it senses temperature as the programmed startup time approaches and adjusts the startup time a little earlier to compensate for the variance.

RonB

[Bob F]

Probably not at all well. If the walls are insulated already, there is little to be gained there. Depending on where you are, 6-8 inches of insulation in the attic may not be enough.

[clare]

If you are in Ontario, that program was just cancelled yesterday.