One day there was smoke coming from the keypad/control panel of my burglar alarm, so I have to get a new one, probably DSC.
One alarm model comes with a temperature sensor, built-in I think, which would be part of the keypad which goes in an outside wall by my front door.
For the other, the sensor has to be bought separately,This sensor alarms at 39 degrees plus or mine 3 degrees F. Should I look for one from a different company that alarms at a higher temperature, somewhere in the 40's?
The second sensor is also wireless, and I could put it almost anywhere.
The front door location is bad, right?
So if I get to put it anywhere, where is good?
Under the sink in the kitchen?
Under the sink in the 2nd floor bathroom.
Taped to the far side of a second floor toilet, where it won't be seen.
----- I may go away on business for 3 months next winter and might not be able to rent the house while I'm gone. There is always a chance the furnace will fail, even if I have it serviced just before I leave.. (Even if I went away for only a week, the same thing could happen, even if a lot less likely.)
In the grand scheme of things, any reasonable location in the house is probably fine. If the sensor only alarms at a fixed temp and you want to get notice earlier, then I would put it in a area that will be cooler. In my house, that would be the laundry room. But I wouldn't go crazy trying to find a spot, I'd be more oriented towards a spot that doesn't need a long wire run, keeps the sensor located where it's not unattractive, etc. And I'd prefer a hard wired unit over a battery one, as I'm not big on relying on changing batteries on safety systems.
Also keep in mind that the higher the alarm temp, and the colder the location you put it in, the less you can set back the temp when not there, as you do need to give it some margin.
My laundry room is in the basement, and I don't think will get below freezing no matter how long there is no heat. (in Baltimore or even in colder places.) I think the second floor will be the first floor to freeze if there is no heat.
Me too -- the old alarm was entirely hardwired, and quite a bit of work that was for me -- and I was just thinking of the nuisance to change batteries when I'm home. I guess I can put a new battery in before I leave for 3 months, but if I leave for 4 days, too many things to remember. It seems this company only has wireless for temp, but obviously other places have wired.
It would be easy to put it under the kitchen sink. But maybe it is warmer under the sink than in the kitchen itself. Still, that is where the pipes are.
The second floor is currently colder, but if the heat goes out altogether, I suppose the first floor will only be a couple degrees warmer than the second floor. Maybe now is the time for me to take some measurements.
Good point. My current thermostat only goes back to 48, although I could reinstall the round Honeywell non-setback thermostat that I think went lower. But even then I think the people here convinced me not to go lower than 45, or was it 50.
39 degrees - 3 degrees =36, and it's always possible it will be colder somewhere else. I think I should shop for a different temp alarm, and if I have the house set at say 48 I should have the temp alarm set at 37, even if that is 40 plus or minus 3.
And then the alarm company will have to contract a friend with a key, who may be busy, and he will have to call the oil company maybe, and definitely the furnace company, which might be busy, then maybe meet the furnace repair man. It seems like I may have to choose a neighbor instead of a close friend. One neighbor had a key but he moved away. The others are probably very trustworthy, but I really don't know that.
One time I changed oil companies to a long established company here, just before I went to Texas for what turned out to be 10 days. I gave them my credit card number and asked them to fill me up. I was there in person and she said OK. When I got back I was lucky that I hadn't run out of oil, because they hadn't come and they never came.
Well, I can go a whole year on one tank of oil if I have the inside temp set at 50. Pardon me for thinking outloud here.
That leaves furnace failure.
I wish there was some way to alarm when the furnace failed, without waiting for the house to get cold. If I were watching, *I* would know that the heat didn't go on when it should.
I would know when the reset relay tripped. The relay that has to be reset. (It has a red button on top of it). If that relay is double throw, and if it has an unused pole, or even maybe a used pole, I could go into that relay and use it .....how? To trip another relay -- I guess that would be necessary to separate the two systems
-- that would notify the central station that I had no heat.
Right. Now instead of using a temp sensor to see when the house is cold, I'm thinking I should note when the furnace control relay trips**, and call the central station then, because that will give whoever is watching the house several extra days to get the furnace fixed.
**My furnace still uses a mechanical relay. Do the new ones just use scr's or other transistors? That would be harder, because I think I would need a schematic, and I'll bet they are hard to get.
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