OmniStat2 Compatability

[Ranger Digital]

Rell, Im with you. Same thing, 20i, two of them, ABSOLUTELY sucks no control.

GotHAI, those 16's you have must NOT be comfortlink II. If they are, you MUST share how the hell your ac guy made this work! LOL DO TELL!

 

[GotHAI]

I will look into it further. My understanding was that he ordered the unit without the Comfortlink II.

 

[GotHAI]

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I own the 4TTX6 model of the Trane 16i. The pictures here shows 3 things.
1. The cover of the install manual where it shows 2 models, the 4TTX6 and the 4TWX6 with Comfortlink II.
2. The wiring diagram on page 6 is for the 4TTX6. Is seems quite standard. The page prior is for Comfortlink II model 4TWX6.
3. The picture is a basic wiring of the Omni.

The purpose here is that maybe if you show your Trane guy they will start thinking outside of the box.

I don't know that you lose any features by not using Comfort Link. I am very pleased with my Omni. It handles both single and two stage very well. I also have an outdoor temp sensor connected to my panel which displays on the Omni. I also have a Honywell Whole Home humidifier hanging off this through a relay.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ranger Digital]

So bottom line, you have Trane comfort link ii and are controlling it with HAI??????

 

[GotHAI]

No, the bottom line is that you can purchase a Trane without the Comfort Link II. Or the option was there when I acquired my 16i unit.

 

[Relleum]

Still no update from Trane or HAI?  Does Trane really think anyone is going to use their stupid half ass home automation crap?  These damn x20i units were the worst decision ever.  They are loud, constantly erroring out, and the AC guys have been out *literally* a dozen times trying to make them work properly.  And I still can't control them with my OmniPro.  
 
If anyone is reading this and considering a Trane, do yourself a helluva favor and purchase Carrier Infinity units instead.

 

[kurtmccaslin]

I am planning to build a house in about a year and have been doing some digging into thermostats.   It looks like Carrier has a new communicating thermostat out end of 2012.   It is called the Infinity Touch.   It has a touch screen and a pretty nice looking interface.   However, it does not appear to be compatable with the SAM interface.   Does anybody know if this new thermostat is compatable with home automation systems?
 
http://www.carrier.com/homecomfort/en/us/products/controls-and-thermostats/product---thermostats-and-controls---systxccitw01/

 

[ano]

I went through all this so can save you time.  I'm pretty sure the new Carrier system will NOT connect to HAI like the old system did.  You can double check with HAI on that. Carrier still sells the "box" (SAM) that can connect to HAI and Carrier Infinity, but I'm not sure for how long.
 
So where does that leave you?  If you can get the Carrier Infinity, that will work with Carrier's wildly overpriced interface box. ($800) Also you can use Trane.  Their models up to the XL16i do work with ANY brand multi-stage thermostat like the OmniStat2.  I'm not sure about the top-of-the-line XL20i. I hear different things on that.  In any case the AC contractors I spoke with didn't like the XL20i anyway, due to the delay when switching stages, and its sometimes lower efficiency than the XL16i.  (XL20i has a 11.5 EER, the XL16i has a 12.5 EER)
 
So for just a straight unit, the OmniStat2 is fine.  Where you have the problem is if you want zoning.  For zoning, all the contractors like the XL20i with Trane's zoning.  This CAN NOT be controlled with HAI.  But what you can do is what I did. Get the XL16i, and a Honeywell zone controller, and that does work with OmniStat2's.  Of course I don't want to think about how much I spent for three RC-2000 OmniStat2's with Zigbee.  I guess they are going to get you one way or another.  But the zoning works and it is easy to control with HAI. 
 
Now, having said all that, its is HARD to find a contractor that will install such a system.  They have all gone to "Trane School" which tells them the Trane way is the only way. I recommend a smaller company that will take the time to listen what you want.  For those in Phoenix I can recommend a good one.
 
Not lots of options, but you can have Trane, have zone control and have HAI control it. I do, however agree, that HAI needs to be more aggressive with these big companies and push to license an interface. 
 
Edit:  I should add that there is a second option as well.  Hook up an OmniStat2 to most any HVAC unit that can connect to a "normal" thermostat, then control the dampers with HAI relays.  You'll probably need a HAI temp. sensor in each zone as well.  I know the professional home automation companies do it this way, and it probably will work, but creating the functions of a zone controller in HAI programming isn't easy.  For one thing, I don't think the OMNI programming can read or set the Stage level of the AC which is important.  Therefore I would not recommend this method for a multi-stage system, but with a single stage system, it could be done.