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boy
Starting Member
Canada
1 Posts |
 Posted - 04/21/2012 : 09:59:13 AM
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my home has 220V electric baseboard heaters in every room (two 110V legs plus a ground, no neutral) - essentially making up what would be 10 independent zones each controlled by it's own analog thermostat. my current home automation setup is an elk m1 tied in with my isy99i. i'm trying to wrap my head around what the best/cheapest solution would be to automate my thermostats. i have no issues with pulling new wires (whether line or low voltage), but obviously would like to minimize tear up if at all possible.
goals for the system would obviously be to control each of the 10 thermostats independently via rules/automation but also still have the convenience of being able to adjust a thermostat locally on the wall in a more traditional sense. i wouldn't need the ability to program rules or schedules locally, but just temporarily boost the heat a few degrees if needed. also, i need a solution that won't break the bank.
so far here's what i've gathered:
one solution would be to install a central 24V thermostat (like a venstar) that's insteon controlled and then pull 24v wiring to each of the 10 thermostat locations and use a 24V/220V relay to bridge the 220V baseboard heaters to the central venstar. but then i lose the ability to adjust the thermostat locally on the wall in the room and have an ugly wall plate where the thermostat used to be. also, i don't see how the temperature would be locally monitored in each room/zone since i would only have 1 true thermostat centrally that's monitoring the temp.
another solution i've heard people doing is installing the relays next to the electrical panel, but then i'm limited to turning the branch on/off which doesn't really function like a true thermostat either. i assume this solution would only turn a thermostat plus heater combination on/off which wouldn't work in our freezing winters where the heat needs to be on a low setting when we're away, not completely off.
an ideal product would be a low cost 220V thermostat that is insteon controllable so i could just buy 10 of them and tie them into my isy. does such a product exist? |
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Tfitzpatri8
Administrator
USA
6866 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 12:44:54 PM
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The Insteon thermostats are designed for use with furnaces or heat pumps, not 220 volt electric heat, so there's no drop-in replacement.
So far as 'cheap' options are concerned, you can't get much cheaper than the classic x10 thermostat setbacks. They used a small resistive heater that fit under your existing thermostat and could be manually set to raise the temperature of air going into the thermostat by, IIRC, 5 or 10 or 15 degrees. You'd plug a small power supply into an appliance module, then use your home automation controller to turn the mini heater on when you wanted the thermostat set back and off to resume heating to the 'real' thermostat setting. |
Volunteer Moderator & Home Automation Enthusiast |
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stusviews
Advanced Member
USA
8412 Posts |
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220V electric heaters with insteon system
