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Today's Adventure: Installing a Wi-Fi Thermostat.

Sandy VDH

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I have a 7 year old house, so I am not expecting any wiring anomalies, but I do KNOW the instructions say to take a picture of the wires first.

This sentence is unclear, but I think you were reiterating to take a picture of how the wires are attached in the OLD thermostat.

That is what happens when finger and brain are not on the same topic.
 

DaveNV

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So, Jim, if I take a picture of the wiring and then install a thermostat like that, will it give me A/C in my house? I don't have that at present... ;)

Dave ducking...
 

Passepartout

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So, Jim, if I ..... install a thermostat like that, will it give me A/C in my house? I don't have that at present... ;)

Dave ducking...
Oh sure. You just set it to 'cool', and park your lawn chair in front of the Costco Fan just like you always do. :) Semi-seriously, though, if I lived around Bellingham, I prolly would just have a window (or Costco portable) unit in the bedroom, if any.
 

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As I've said about a zillion times, any job worth doing is worth buying a new tool, but in this case, I'm not so sure this is the one. In the installation instructions, there is nothing about what values one should look for on a multimeter, so (imo) about all you'd be checking is continuity. Simply following the instructions is going to be straight forward in 99% of cases- assuming the original thermostat being replaced is working.
Well, it's not a fix-all, but being able to identify the hot legs and trace continuity is often a huge help if you didn't note these things up front. Regardless, for $15, everyone should own a DMM. If for no other reason than to ensure that a circuit is off when you think you've flipped the correct breaker.

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Amazon price matched this one day sale. So for me that is better, as shipping is faster, and I get 5% back on my Chase Prime CC.

They also price match some TP Link smart bulbs that I have, so I got some of those that I have been holding off on getting.
Amazon often price matches other vendors daily sales prices. When I checked this morning, after seeing the HD deal, Amazon was still at $129 on the Sensi.

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Oh sure. You just set it to 'cool', and park your lawn chair in front of the Costco Fan just like you always do. :) Semi-seriously, though, if I lived around Bellingham, I prolly would just have a window (or Costco portable) unit in the bedroom, if any.

:) I actually have two window a/c units. But putting in Central Air is on my radar.
 

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I have central air .... and still put in a window a/c unit in my bedroom last week. My $225 & $300 electric bill last 2 month was JUST too much ... as I have natural gas hot water, cooking, heat, clothes dryer ... only electric for lights, refrigerator and central air.

And the central air did NOT make my bedroom comfortable enough for sleeping .. it is on the WEST side and 2nd floor of my house.

Sleeping in the LR on the first floor was not cutting it .. for comfort or sleeping plus midnight visits to the refrigerator was way to easy ... and I gained 10lbs.
 

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I have central air .... and still put in a window a/c unit in my bedroom last week. My $300 electric bill last month was JUST too much ... as I have natural gas hot water, cooking, heat, clothes dryer ... only electric for lights, refrigerator and central air.

And the central air did NOT make my bedroom comfortable for sleeping .. it is on the WEST side and 2nd floor of my house.

The windows in my house are of different styles, and most are side-sliders. The only casement-style window near the three bedrooms suitable for a typical window A/C unit is in my bedroom's closet. So I put it there and fire it up, which cools the closet wonderfully. :rolleyes: But then I have to use a floor fan in the closet doorway to blow the cool air into the sleeping area. It's an odd arrangement, but does work well. The problem is that the rest of the house is stifling. Can you use zone controls with central air? If so, I could cool the bedrooms at night, and the main living areas during the day. And if it was programmable (as I'd expect), I could fire it up before leaving work, so the house would be nice when I got home. In theory, it's a nice idea.

Dave
 

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For zoned air conditioning, you must be able to separate the a/c ducts to different circular fan systems/duct systems with a separate themostat for each zone..

There are different air conditioners ... 1).window (standard double hung), 2). casement window (tall and narrow) and 3).floor units with heated air discarded from floor unit out a window vent via a flexible pipe.
 

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For zoned air conditioning, you must be able to separate the a/c ducts to different circular fan systems/duct systems with a separate themostat for each zone..

I didn't know that. ^^^ I'll have to investigate options. I do like the on/off convenience of central air.

There are different air conditioners ... 1).window (standard double hung), 2). casement window (tall and narrow) and 3).floor units with heated air discarded from floor unit out a window vent via a flexible pipe.

I did know this. ^^^ The other window in the Master BR is a five-foot high massive slider. A tall and narrow unit would be all that would work there. And I've heard the portable floor unit types don't work very well. Spouse is a Refund Cashier at Costco, and says they get tons of them returned by dissatisfied buyers. :shrug:

Dave
 

Passepartout

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Dave, I think you need to have a visit with an HVAC pro. They can design a system that will cool the bedrooms when you sleep, the living areas in the daytime, and efficiently warm you in those dreary Washington coastal winters.
 

Sandy VDH

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I live in TX so heat is extreme here. I don't like it hot but I don't like it too cold either. I keep a sweater or jacket in my car during the summer, as everywhere in TX has their AC way too cold for me. I have discovered I have a narrow range I'm comfortable in, when just sitting around and not working on some activity around the house.

Since I am bilingual, I speak Metric and Imperial, for you C and not F folks I provided conversions.

My home is programmed to be 80 (27 C) when I am not here, but the program has it cool down to 74 (23 C) in the morning when I get ready, it also cools it down to 77 (25 C) when I get home from work. If I am up and busy I will temporarily bring it back down to 74. 72 (22 C) is about the lowest I like it. When it is 98 (37 C) plus humid feels like 109 (43 C), 77 is very comfortable for me. I actually like the ceiling fan on and the air conditioning NOT too cold, but that is me. So while not saving me tons of money, the remote control, will allow me to better control the temp should I come home early or am staying late, or go out of town and forget to put the AC on hold. It is the going out of town that I really want the control, because coming home when it is on hold at 80 is too warm to unpack the car and get stuff done.

I have a 7 year old "Green Certified" home, extra thick walls, extra insulation, high efficiency AC. My house is 1 story and 2200 sq ft (205 sq M). They guarantee my AC/Heating costs NOT to exceed a certain amount of Kilowatt hours per month. It is written into my builders warranty on the house.

My bill, and remember this is south TX and it hot hot hot, was ONLY $85 last month. Having a well insulated house and and narrow comfort range makes for cheaper utility costs. My NO AC running NO Heat running Apr and Nov months bill runs below $45 a month.

I temporarily lived in an apartment, which was half the size, but poorly insulated with a crap central AC unit. Even at my temperature range it would run nearly 24/7 and barely keep the rooms cool enough, and oh yeah my bill that summer came to over $300 for a month.
 

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Dave, I think you need to have a visit with an HVAC pro. They can design a system that will cool the bedrooms when you sleep, the living areas in the daytime, and efficiently warm you in those dreary Washington coastal winters.

Pretty much my plan from the get-go. But I've already done three major projects this Summer, so it'll have to wait till the bank account stops hemorrhaging. Replacing all the flooring on the entire main floor of the house with hardwood throughout, renovating/replacing over 500 square feet of exterior decking, steps, and facia, and building a 100 square foot storage shed in the back yard, plus labor to do it all, has pretty well killed my house upgrade budget for the year. And a lot of next year. ;) It looks amazing, but holey cow, was it expensive! :doh:

Dave
 

Talent312

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I speak Metric and Imperial, for you C and not F folks I provided conversions...

This is America. We don't do metric. ;)

My beef is with two-AC systems in my house. Total sq.feet (not meters) is 2300.
It's a single-floor ranch. IMHO, the house does not need two separate systems.
One day, I'll ask a pro if there's anyway to tie the ducts together & get rid of one.

.
 

Sandy VDH

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This is America. We don't do metric. ;)

My beef is with two-AC systems in my house. Total sq.feet (not meters) is 2300.
It's a single-floor ranch. IMHO, the house does not need two separate systems.
One day, I'll ask a pro if there's anyway to tie the ducts together & get rid of one.

.

2 seperate systems make no sense to me, your house is about the same size as mine. In Texas the only time I have seen 2 systems is if you have a large 2 story, and heat rises.
 

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The windows in my house are of different styles, and most are side-sliders. The only casement-style window near the three bedrooms suitable for a typical window A/C unit is in my bedroom's closet. So I put it there and fire it up, which cools the closet wonderfully. :rolleyes: But then I have to use a floor fan in the closet doorway to blow the cool air into the sleeping area. It's an odd arrangement, but does work well. The problem is that the rest of the house is stifling. Can you use zone controls with central air? If so, I could cool the bedrooms at night, and the main living areas during the day. And if it was programmable (as I'd expect), I could fire it up before leaving work, so the house would be nice when I got home. In theory, it's a nice idea.

Dave

My first Florida home had zoned air conditioning. It's really a simple install. It's two complete systems; two compressors, two air handlers and two thermostats

EZPZ
 

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My first Florida home had zoned air conditioning. It's really a simple install. It's two complete systems; two compressors, two air handlers and two thermostats
Zoned systems are great, but you don't necessarily need two separate systems to have a zoned house. I have a 3-zone system for my basement level (forced air with both A/C and furnace) which uses dampers to direct the air to the different zones. On my main level, I have a 2-zone system that separates the 3 bedrooms from the living spaces. So I do have two complete systems, but a total of 5 zones. It keeps the place very comfortable and is very efficient.

Kurt
 

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I have dual zone, but single system. Baffle diverts majority of air to whichever zone calls for air ( heat or a/c).

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Sandy VDH

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How easy it is to install the necessary actuators on a existing system. Assume the air is diverted closer to the source.
 

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How easy it is to install the necessary actuators on a existing system. Assume the air is diverted closer to the source.
The biggest issue is if the existing ducting matches the zones you want to create. For example, on my system the furnace is in the basement and the ductwork splits into two directions immediately above the furnace. Everything on one branch goes to the bedroom areas, and everything on the other branch goes to the living spaces. This made it easy, as only two dampers were needed -- one on each branch close to the furnace. If the ducting is either a) not accessible or b) not designed for zones, it may be much harder / near impossible to add zones after-the-fact.

Also note, with any single-system zoning, make sure the installer puts in a bypass loop that protects the furnace / blower if only one zone is activated and there isn't enough airflow. Too little airflow can cause the fan to work harder, and also cause the furnace to overheat (or A/C to freeze up) because there is not enough airflow when only one zone is open. The bypass goes between the return and supply ducts.

Kurt
 

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I believe ours is set such that there is a 70/30 ratio, where the calling zone gets 70% of the air, but the non-calling zone will always get 30%. We have 3 returns, two down and one up.
 

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For zoned air conditioning, you must be able to separate the a/c ducts to different circular fan systems/duct systems with a separate themostat for each zone..

There are different air conditioners ... 1).window (standard double hung), 2). casement window (tall and narrow) and 3).floor units with heated air discarded from floor unit out a window vent via a flexible pipe.
Don't forget mini-splits. Re-ducting an existing house is usually a pain. Mini-splits are fairly cost-effective, and there are systems with one outside unit that can power four or even eight inside units.

We have a 3100-sf 2-story house with two systems (one for up and one down). We hardly run the downstairs, but have to run the upstairs at least some, even if not home, or it's 85 when we do return. Luckily, in SoCal nights cool off rapidly so a whole-house fan helps.

I think one problem for us is that it's a tract home, and they put the same system in every one regardless of which way it faces. So we have two bedrooms, far from the AC unit, over the garage, facing west. They get the hottest. The master bedroom, on the east side, with a bigger duct (although a bigger room) right next to the AC unit, has comparatively too much cooling.
 
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