HVAC thermostat wiring / choices

[forgets]

so i'm going to update automate my thermostats in my home, since i've got the elk in and all.. and i'm trying to get everything done in 1 hit... here's my problem.. i want to do 3 zones in my house for a/c... currently i have 1, yep, just the 1 sears thermostat in the living room, ideally, i'd like to have a seperate thermostat for living room, master bedroom, and then the other bedrooms... so i'm trying to decide the best way about doing that... and i've done some research but i'm unsure about some things.. i just got this rcs x10 ts16 thermostat... because it was pretty cheap, but now i don't know if i'll be able to use it from what i'm reading... ideally, i'd like all the thermostat's to be able to communicate with the elk, which the x-10 one i have won't do ( as far as being able to read the temp through the elk ) ...

but what if i get a rcs zc4 4 zone controller, it's in the plans for the future, to seperate the a/c into zones, could i then hook up my existing ts-16 thermostat into the zc4 and just buy 2 more ts-16 thermostat's and then wire 1 elk m1-xsp into the zc4? i read that it's possible on the forum, but i didn't see a rs-485 connection on the zc4.. or would i have to have 3 seperate tr16 rs-485's wire them all into 1 m1-xsp (via their rs-485 connectors) and then into the zc4 ? like i said before, ideally, i'd like to be able to control them and write rules for them with the elk, and being able to check each zones temp would be a plus.. so help me out please, which is the correct way to wire it all?

 

[Spanky]

It is possible, I know it was recently done, but I was not involved. <_<


Wow!!! I just hit 1000.

 

[sic0048]

Well, just so you realize, going to zone HVAC is more complicated than simply adding a zone controller. I wish it was that easy as I have a 3900sq ft house on 1 zone. If anyone needs it, I do. But there is a lot more involved. Even I, the biggest DIYer out there, will probably pay someone to do this for me.

Yes you can add a zone controller, and yes, your HVAC unit will run, but it may severely shorten it's life expentance if not done correctly.

 

[TCIII]

forgets,

I have the single zone version of the zc4 and it does have an RS-485 port that communicates with my SG RS-485 hub.

The TR-16 thermostat communicates with the controller over four wires: power, ground, clock, and data.

If you use a four zone controller, then you must install a motor controlled damper in the a/c ducting to each zone so the controller can modulate the flow of air and maintain the requested temperature in each zone. This will also require a barometric bypass relief valve to prevent overpressurizing the output of the a/c fan when most of the zone dampers are closed.

I suggest that you look at the four zone layout in the zc4 user manual to get an idea of what you are really getting into.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
TCIII