HVAC automation

[electron]

I am interested in knowing how many people have interfaced their HVAC system. While there are very smart thermostats out there, it does not count in this poll, as I am only interested in external devices/PC's controlling your HVAC. With answers 1 & 2, it is assumed that you can also use the system to remote control your HVAC, so I didn't add that to the answer in order to keep the choices 'short'.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

Our Elk controls 2 thermostats in the office. At home, I'm getting ready to do the same.

 

[Digger]

On my list to be done by the end of the year. Which means Martin will probably see an order in the next month.

 

[hucker]

HVAC automation is an important part of our automation plan. Setback when alarm is armed, setback at night, control fan and external air damper for ventilation and integration with whole house fan.

 

[electron]

Pretty interesting, guess this is more popular than I originally thought. Some good ideas as well, so keep posting details about your setup.

 

[Rupp]

One of the main reasons I automated my upstairs tstat was the kids would adjust the thermostat with wild changes like lowering it to 68 at night in the summer or raising it to 80 in the winter. I now have HomeSeer monitor changes and if the tstat changes more than 2 degrees I set it back to 76 in the summer or 72 in the winter.

 

[MikeB]

It's on my to-do list, but I'm not anxious to run any more wire in my home.

I'm looking forward to the Insteon RF thermostat. Hope it shows up soon.

 

[politics123]

I've got my HAI thermostats installed and an XSP ready to go, but I keep gettin pulled off on other higher-priority projects.

For me, this is integral for smart-energy usage and part of our green-house profile. HVAC is the largest residential use of energy, and most of the time, it is applied very inefficiently.

 

[Rupp]

It's on my to-do list, but I'm not anxious to run any more wire in my home.

I'm looking forward to the Insteon RF thermostat. Hope it shows up soon.

RCS make both Z-Wave and X10 wireless thermostats. I have 2 X10 wireless and they work flawlessly.

 

[upstatemike]

One of the main reasons I automated my upstairs tstat was the kids would adjust the thermostat with wild changes like lowering it to 68 at night in the summer or raising it to 80 in the winter. I now have HomeSeer monitor changes and if the tstat changes more than 2 degrees I set it back to 76 in the summer or 72 in the winter.

I go a step further with my stargate controlling RCS thermostats. Any time the setpoint on any thermostat changes there is a voice confirmation in the form of "kitchen thermostat is now set to 68 degrees." This lets me note when changes are made and decide if they are reasonable or not.

I also have a maximimum limit where the temperature gets set back to the maximum I have defined for that area. This also has a voice prompt in the form of: "Front Hall Thermostat is now set to 88 degrees. 88 degrees is too high. Front Hall Thermostat is now set to 72 degrees."

The stargate also lets me operate any thermostat from any stargate keypad. It works just as if you were standing at the thermostat adjusting it directly. The LCD display shows the temp and setpoint and the up and down set buttons work just the same as the ones on the thermostat itself. This is a super useful feature for manually tweaking any/all tstats from the bedroom in the middle of the night or from the basement while servicing the filters and such. (I'm kind of surprised Elk doesn't support this from their keypads yet!)

 

[bfisher]

In addition to Mike's actions (I do the same with my HVPro) - I have manual adjustment of the TStat only "hold" for 1 hour. At the end of 1 hour, the HVPro determines what the right temp should be and resumes. (I can have it hold longer, but I'm the only one who knows how )

Also, since my house is zoned (1 HVAC unit, 3 zones), I have zones change temp based on which zone needs it more (so multiple zones aren't calling for air at the same time if 1 zone really needs it...)

 

[Rupp]

One of the main reasons I automated my upstairs tstat was the kids would adjust the thermostat with wild changes like lowering it to 68 at night in the summer or raising it to 80 in the winter. I now have HomeSeer monitor changes and if the tstat changes more than 2 degrees I set it back to 76 in the summer or 72 in the winter.

I go a step further with my stargate controlling RCS thermostats. Any time the setpoint on any thermostat changes there is a voice confirmation in the form of "kitchen thermostat is now set to 68 degrees." This lets me note when changes are made and decide if they are reasonable or not.

I also have a maximimum limit where the temperature gets set back to the maximum I have defined for that area. This also has a voice prompt in the form of: "Front Hall Thermostat is now set to 88 degrees. 88 degrees is too high. Front Hall Thermostat is now set to 72 degrees."

The stargate also lets me operate any thermostat from any stargate keypad. It works just as if you were standing at the thermostat adjusting it directly. The LCD display shows the temp and setpoint and the up and down set buttons work just the same as the ones on the thermostat itself. This is a super useful feature for manually tweaking any/all tstats from the bedroom in the middle of the night or from the basement while servicing the filters and such. (I'm kind of surprised Elk doesn't support this from their keypads yet!)

I have the same voice announcements from my tstat on my whole house audio system except for the "... too high". Also instead of using touch screens for tweaking I use the X10 palm pad remotes. I have 3 of these. One in the bathroom for morning adjustments for the heat, one in the entry/exit way, and one in the kitchen.

 

[eufreka]

I've got my HAI thermostats installed and an XSP ready to go, but I keep gettin pulled off on other higher-priority projects.

For me, this is integral for smart-energy usage and part of our green-house profile. HVAC is the largest residential use of energy, and most of the time, it is applied very inefficiently.

My 2 HAI tstats and XSP are still in their boxes but ready to go...I just have to deal with a difficult wire drop for the downstairs tstat to get it done. Maybe tomorrow...I have punted 2-3 times already. (It should already be done.)

 

[68sting]

I have a two story with forced air. It tends to be colder in the basement and warmer on the top floor so I have an event set up to run the fan for 10 min every hour. This keeps the house a more consistant temperature. It makes the most difference in the winter when the solar gain keeps the first floor 70 and doesn't kick the furnace on all day. I'm waiting for a zwave ceiling fan switch to incorporate my ceiling fan with the furnace fan event.

 

[hucker]

I have a two story with forced air. It tends to be colder in the basement and warmer on the top floor so I have an event set up to run the fan for 10 min every hour. This keeps the house a more consistant temperature. It makes the most difference in the winter when the solar gain keeps the first floor 70 and doesn't kick the furnace on all day. I

How much of a difference does this make? I have a similar scenario, bedrooms upstairs living space downstairs. If I could get a couple of degrees of warmth downstairs during the day for the cost of running the fan I'd do that in a second... This automation stuff is so cool!