Hi, We just had a geothermal system installed, replacing an 18-year-old air-source system. We went with a Water Furnace Series 7, with a TPCC32U01 thermostat. We haven't really seen it in operation yet as our weather has been very mild. One thing I've noticed is the humidity reading on the TPCC32U01 is running high. I'm basing that on four other hygrometers that we have in the house that I've moved near the TPCC32U01. They all vary by a couple percent, but the TPCC32U01 is consistently reading 8-10% higher than all the others. I assume the reading is being taken at the thermostat, and not from the main unit in the basement. The basement humidity runs higher, but even at that, the TPCC32U01 reading is 3-4% higher than that. My concern is that the higher reading will effect the operation of the system. In the summer it may run more often, trying to hit what it thinks is the desired humidity, and in the winter it may keep the house drier than it needs to be. I'll be contacting the installer, but I wanted to check here first to see if this is a known issue. I was also wondering if this is something that can be adjusted in the system, and if not, how adamant should I be about getting a replacement thermostat? Thanks for your help!
First make sure the wall opening is sealed behind the thermostat where the wires pass through. Basement air and humidity can follow the wiring if not sealed. Second, make sure the hygrometers you are using to compare are accurate. Third, if needed, your thermostats %RH can be calibrated to +10-10% in installer settings under Offsets Humidity.
The installer still needs to send someone out to setup the Aurora WebLink component. Hopefully they will be familiar with the thermostat as well. The wall opening is an interesting idea. By the time they showed me how to operate the thermostat, it was already installed. They used the location and wiring from our old thermostat, so it's hard to say how many holes may be in the wall behind it. I had thought of the accuracy of my hygrometers as well. I don't really have a way to verify them; I was just going by majority rules. Perhaps the installer has something to take a more accurate reading. It's good to know they can adjust the reading if necessary. Hopefully they can get this cleared up when they are back out at our house. Thanks for the help!
The installer had a technician out yesterday afternoon. He checked the humidity next to the thermostat using a device from his kit (some type of hygrometer I assume) and said it showed the thermostat was reading 4-5% high. I'm not sure how fast a device like his calibrates; he brought it up from our basement where he'd been working, and only set it on the thermostat for a couple of minutes before he took the reading. Mine take longer than that to adjust to a new environment, so the thermostat could actually be off more than that. I mentioned geoxne's suggestion on humidity coming up through the hole in the wall behind the thermostat. He used Thumb Gum on the hole where the wires come out, but the humidity is still reading high. He was not aware of a way to adjust the thermostat, so he plans to talk with his boss on Monday to determine what they plan to do. Thanks again for your help!
Tell them to read the manual. Page 9 top left column "Offsets" http://www.waterfurnace.com/thermostats/IG1601EW.pdf
Good to know on the temperature as well; it's running about 2 degrees high. Are these adjustments they can make remotely via the AWL? If so, I'll call up the guy that was in charge of our install (he was out of town last week) and have them make the adjustments. Otherwise I'll set up another appointment to get someone out to take care of it. Thanks for all your help!
I'd thought about that. I guess I'm a little put off by their disclaimer, even for somthing as minor as this: "NOTE: These options are intended to be used by the installer. End users are not advised to change or modify any of these settings. Doing so may make your equipment stop working properly and/or may void the warranty of the thermostat as well as the equipment connected to the thermostat." I'd be more comfortable with it if my installer gives me the OK to do it myself. I guess I'll see what he says when I talk to him. Thanks again!
