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An Old Debate
There are is a very old debate about whether it's better to leave the thermostat at a constant temperature or to turn the temperature down when unoccupied and up when occupied. I am in the heat-as-needed camp that believes in turning the heat up and down.
One Argument
From a theoretical perspective, I think about it this way: Your ...
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Setting back your thermostat to any reasonable temperature for any reason amount of time will only save 5-10% over the course of a season.
Apples to apples
You can't simply compare your bill to your neighbor's bill. There are very numerous reasons why this is impractical. Different construction, exposure, consumption, equipment and more. Even two houses ...
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Our heating bills are about 25% higher than our average neighbors according to our bill, yet our temperature is always as low as we can stand it (mid 50's), we have excellent insulation throughout the house, we don't have drafty windows, and our furnace is a brand new natural gas system. The WAY we are heating is one of the last variables to explore.
I'm ...
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The zone board's gone bad
Since upstairs is broken, yet downstairs is fine, and it's not a thermostat issue, I'd point the finger at the zone board having something wrong with it. Just to make sure, try pulling the upstairs thermostat and jumpering R to W on its base; if the heat doesn't come on, then something's dead with the W input for that zone.
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And are there any other factors to consider?
There is one factor of note that you have attempted to consider:
we don't have drafty windows
Unfortunately, the idea that windows are a major factor in a house's draftiness (or more technically, air change rate) is a common misconception. The reality is that the vast majority of draftiness is completely ...
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unfortunately the ecobee is not set up to do that. Each thermostat only controls one heating zone, regardless of the quantity of room sensors. The way the sensors are used is fairly flexible. They can be included in an average with the t-stat and other sensors to trigger heat demand, and they can individually be included/excluded in different "comfort ...
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Choice of normally open or normally closed for a valve actuator is part of the overall controls design process, part of which is considering safety/protective functions.
As an example, consider a climate where it gets freezing cold (below 0 degrees C). You have a normally closed heating valve that is closed. Something happens such that your electronic ...
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It is a myth that furnaces need to work "harder" if turned off for a while or if the room cools or heats too much. This has been tested and is recommended even by the government:
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/thermostats
https://blog.powerley.com/mythbuster-using-a-thermostat-setback-for-energy-savings/
You should have your thermostat as cold as ...
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After speaking to a service tech, I've confirmed that the design of the Taco valves is that the boiler contact is not energized when in manual override. However, he also stated that he's seen cases where they failed with the contact energized, so I'm planning to disconnect that wire if I have a similar situation in the future.
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Radiators don't put out a lot of heat at that temperature, so you'd need a lot more area, so the heating loop usually runs warmer than you'd really want the hot water cylinder to get up to, so the boiler thermostat setting is a bit of a compromise with a system with no diverter.
Combi boilers that are either heat or HW but not both, often do have different ...
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That is correct, yes
That is a correct way to wire the coil-sides of two isolation relays -- one end of the secondary provides C to the relay coils and thermostat C wires, while the other side of the secondary provides R to the thermostats, and the W wires from the thermostats go to the free terminals on the corresponding relay coils.
The relay contacts ...
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It does not need to be installed in the unconditioned space near the furnace. It should be in the duct that feeds all the others. Look for a powered humidifier. It will need a 120V outlet, water supply, water drain and it will need low voltage wires connecting it to the humidistat and the furnace. If the duct that feeds all the branch ducts is in an ...
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I have used these N/O valves on a system that had a wood/coal boiler as a back up heating system so if properly piped could be used during periods of "power outages" to yield gravity flow and give some heat to the residence.
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This comment pertains specifically to Taco valves, it may or may not be true of other valves intended for geothermal applications. Not all geo systems are open loop.
[The geothermal valve] is made from materials that can resist oxygen
corrosion more effectively than those in a Zone Sentry valve. Zone
Sentry valves are designed for use in closed-loop ...
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There may be other differences as well but the geothermal valve is designed for a higher head pressure. The standard hydronic system is built around reduced pressure. The geothermal valve is expected to deal with standard water pumping and or city pressure.
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