Looking for wall thermostats to control the zones in my house. Doing a search I ran across the tekmar 518 and one of the features that caught my eye was the ability of having a Pulse Width Modulation. I'm not sure if this would be overkill or if it may be useful. Anyone have opinions on this thermostat or perhaps one they recommend?
If you need communicating, then we work with Tekmar (though it can be a pain) or HBX. HBX controls can work with non-communicating thermostats, which is a benefit in retrofits. So, do you need communicating thermostats? If not, then you don't need anything fancy at all.
I'm not familiar with the difference between communicating or not. Could you explain a bit more detail about the difference? To give you an idea of what I was thinking. I currently have a variable circulating pump. I was thinking about purchasing taco zone switch relay to control the operation of the Honeywell zone valves I currently have.
Communicating thermostats work with their home controller. The Tekmar 406 or HBX-0550 are examples. If you are not using these devices, your thermostats really don't need to communicate to one another. They just need to turn on a valve. The benefits of communicating are generally: outdoor reset, WWSD (warm weather shutdown), staging, etc... It also prevents things like cold water being put in to the floors during a heat demand.
http://connexus-controls.com/website/ We are using the product from a young start up which makes customized thermostat and control solution for all our radiant systems now. Every single function can be programmed in. You can set all the conditions. Outdoor reset, WWSD, etc. Including customized remote control for the installer of all system components. Very slick. All you have is sensors for input, and relays for output. It also includes monitoring.
Doc, That connexus looks interesting. I know I sound a bit pedantic, but if you have a good relationship with these guys, let them know that it is hard to install systems that share data across a border. If they come up with a system that doesn't take our clients' data south, it is a big marketing plus around here.
Chris, I guess I am not fully following you. The data usually is not public. Or are you referring to cold climate specific algorithms?
Frankly it is a bit more blunt. There is a general concern about any cloud data being hosted in the US. At least if my country spies on me, I have citizen rights. I really don't want to be political but it is a liability concern as a business as it is a privacy concern for our clients.
The connexus system has its own internet access and can be used to bypass your home network. While I appreciate and value my privacy, I might have a different threshold when it comes to monitoring data of my geo system, especially when its access can be secured.
I certainly listen to Chris. I am trying to explain that the data is not hosted in the cloud, it can be configured to not go behind your firewall of your router, plus it is someone's threshold for privacy might be different. At the end of the day I personally don't care if the US government can see my bedroom temperature, or the temp in my buffer tank. But other people might differ.
