HVAC, how to achieve what im looking for

N49atv

Active Member
Not sure how to accomplish what I want, or how many thermostats i would need, or what type.

Im building a new house, and im a few months yet from wiring. Id like to achieve the following,

6 Zones
Infloor Heat (not installed off the go, just lines ran), single Forced air for e-heat, backup, and 2nd stage, AC.
I thinking of installing motorized dampers, to allow forced air heat/AC only where its called for.
Id like outside temp, and humidity.
5 indoor zones, one garage at a separate temp (cooler of course)

So do I need four omnistat 2 thermostats?

I figure if I put 2 temps on each indoor thermostat, and maybe the outdoor temp on one (using 2 sensors per), using 2 zone control, and 2 stage heat, will it all work?
Maybe put humidity and garage temp on the last thermostat?

Or is there a better controller for this?
 
You'd need a zone controller to run the demand signals to the HVAC/Hydronics and dampers and one thermostat per controlled zone.
The multiple temperature sensors attached to a single thermostat get averaged.
The thermostats will have their own internal humidity sensors or you will need to use the combo sensor attached to the Omni itself.


The Omni talks to the thermostats for automation, but the thermostats talk to the zone controller to provide traffic control to the HVAC so there aren't simultaneous calls for heat and cooling or to prevent over cycling of the system.

The thermostats will display whichever temperature sensor is designated as the outside temperature. Or the first one if there are several (I use one in the attic).

The "6 zones" and "2 zone control" are confusing.
 
I have a Honeywell 3 zone controller.

But, I think you're going to have to talk to an HVAC contractor if you want to go that level.
Balancing the system is crucial. Especially when it has to answer demands from 1-6 zones plus AC and back up heat.

The control and automation side of it should be fairly straight forward.

You essentially want a multi-zone system as you describe, using the Omni Stats as zone controls.
AFTER that system is designed, THEN you can add the automation piece to it.
 
Tip: Its best to use a variable speed furnace with a controller built by the same brand as the furnace, that way it can control the speed of the motor as needed and the staging as well, instead of having to use a bypass damper.
 
Yeah, I agree dampers aren't the best, I just know in my current house I can have a 10c difference between floors. And using the vents to even it all out doesn't work. My kids play with them constantly. So I wanted to use dampers to control the zones. So im jot pumping heat upstairs when its not called for, just let natural convection do its thing. I could do it all with two 14 pin relay per zone. Have the thermostat call for heat, drive a the coil. Then have one set of contacts trigger furnace, one set per damper. Same for AC. If two zones call for heat, when one stops calling, that relay will drop out, and dampers close, and the furnace would know the difference, still run and feed the demanding areas.

Just figured a controller could do it all cleaner then I could with relays on din rail.
 
Saw a few controllers online. Any brand recommendation. Looked at the Jackson z-600. Though gotta see how it expands. It seems I'll need 2 per thermostat (one for when I have infloor, and a second for Forced air for eHeat).

Though it still seems I'll need additional T-stats in each zone. If I cant have 2 temp readouts/settings in a thermostat (aside from Outside temp).

I'd also consider a manual t-stat for backup, and fully automated through hikau/snaplink
 
We use RC-2000 thermostats for each primary HVAC system that has AC and Radiant combined. For the sub zones you can use RC-1000's which will control your radiant heat and the dampers for AC. Make sure that the radiant zone manifold circuits matches AC duct design exactly, so you don't have cross controlling. You will need a third party Heat zone controller for the activation of either the zone valves and/or circulator motors or both depending upon the type of hydronic system you install.

You will need a second third-party controller to control the dampers for the AC system.


The RC-2000 in HEAT Mode has the capability of bringing on the fan with a call for heat from the second stage only.


The AC system should be a minimum of 16 seer with the two speed option, make sure that you do not oversize the systems as you will lose all the benefits of zoning each room in the AC mode and you will also lose the benefit of the dehumidification control which you can do through the RC-2000. When performing load calculations undersizing within reason is better than oversizing.


If you have any further questions please contact me via my e-mail.
 
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