What thermostat should I buy for my heating system?

Question

I have a gas furnace with a pilot light, and my current thermostat is a mechanical one that has only one stage and it is located in the living room.
When all the vents of the heating system are open, the living room gets hot real fast and the heating stops while our bedrooms are still freezing.
When I close the living room vents and leave just the bedrooms' vents open the heating never stops, we get steamed and the living room is too cold.

My house is a reverse floor plan, the living room and kitchen are upstairs, while the bedrooms are downstairs.
Will rebalancing help having the bedrooms warm without overheating the living room?

Answer 1

Sounds like the problem is not "what kind" of T'stat you should have, but rather, "where" the T'stat should be located.

A T'stat should always be in a central location in the home, such as a hall way. Never have a T'stat in a large open room, near windows (where the sun could hit it), or by outside doors.

Also be sure that it is not located by a lamp or near a TV. (The heat coming off those sources could throw it off.)

Also, if a heating vent is near it or blowing towards it, that could mess it up as well.

If I were you, (I'm a heating and A/C guy, by the way), I would have the T'stat moved from where it is now and put upstairs in a hallway closer to the bedrooms.

If your looking for a pretty decent T'stat if your in the market for a new one... Get a digital one. Honeywell, White-Rodgers and Aprilaire all make a really good one.

Hope that helps. Good Luck!

*****For your "Added Detail": Add dampers inside (if there not already there) in your duct work. Have each one marked as to what room they go to. And yes, balancing your air flow will definatly help! Direct more airflow into the bedroom ducts, and less to the upstairs living room and kitchen and things should work out well.

But once again if the T'stat is upstairs in the living room, think about having it moved down stairs to where the bedrooms are. That's where you are having the most problems. Get the bedrooms comfortable and the just the natural happening of, "warm air rises", would take care of the upstairs living room and kitchen.

Just a thought... If the T'stat is close to the kitchen upstairs, whenever you cook, the heat from the kitchen is going to shut the T'stat off before it warms the rest of the house!

Once again, I hope this helped & Good Luck!

Answer 2

You may or may not need a new thermostat and maybe you need to relocate it, but I offer something simple first.

Try to open the living room vents partially -- just enough to heat the living room and see if the fully open bedroom vents can take care of the bedrooms.

Keep experiementing with the degree of openness until either you get it right or give up. It's be great if you're able to avoid or put off a more expensive solution. I think whatever more elaborate solution you decide to implement, you'll have to do this anyway.

Answer 3

One of my best friends is an HVAC technician. I didn't consult him on your particular problem, because he has a mantra in such circumstances (which are really common):
- Rebalance the system (best solution) or
- Leave the fan running continuously (thermostat fan switch from AUTO to ON, or bridge the R and G terminals on the furnace).
- Re-duct the house (last resort, expensive because lots of drywall will have to be cut).

Rebalancing will offer the best distribution of the heat, while leaving the fan on will help to clean the air, reduce stratification (hot air at the top of the house, cold air at the bottom of the house) and allow the humidifier to do its job better.

Leave the fan on, see how it goes. If it provides an improvement, have the system rebalanced by a competent and accredited (state or provincial) contractor.

Noting that your furnace has a pilot light, it's probably an antique (though not old enough to be desirable!) If it goes through startup rituals before heating (small drafting fan --> ignition --> main blower) it's probably 80% efficient. If it exhausts through plastic pipes, it's probably 90+% efficient.) If it just starts burning and starts the blower, with no small fan starting up, it's probably 60-65% efficient. A little math will provide you with the payback period for replacing such a dinosaur.

Answer 4

Think about getting a wireless thermostat and putting it in the bedroom area. I'd also look at having your HVAC system rebalanced so when you are heating the bedrooms up to a comfortable temp, you aren't turning your living room into Death Valley. I sell the TotalLines which allow for up to 4 thermostats on one controller. They are super easy to install. More expensive than a standard 'Stat...but then again you don't have to pay to have wiring run.

Answer 5

YOU NEED TO BALANCE THE AIR FLOW-SOME TO THE BEDROOMS AND SOME TO THE LIVING ROOM. YOU WILL FIND IT TAKE LITTLE TO HEAT THE LIVING ROOM IN THE WINTER SINCE HEAT RISES. IN THE SUMMER IF/WHEN YOU START COOLING YOU WILL HAVE TO SEND MOST OF THE AIR TO THE UPSTAIRS REVERSING WHAT YOU DID TO BALANCE IT IN THE HEATING SEASON BECAUSE THE HEAVY COOL AIR WANTS TO GO TO THE LOWEST PART OF THE HOUSE. IF THE HOUSE IS NEW-SEE WHAT THE BUILDER WILL DO TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE BEST SOLUTION WOULD BE TO ZONE THE HOUSE INTO 2 AREAS. THIS CAN BE DONE WITH AIR DUCT DAMPERS OPERATED BY UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS THERMOSTATS. GET AT LEAST 3 WRITTEN BIDS FROM HEATING CONTRACTORS WITH SKETCHES OF WHAT THEY ARE PROPOSING TO DO TO CURE THE PROBLEM TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM WITH MONEY. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. MOST PEOPLE PUT UP WITH THE PROBLEM IF NOT TOO BAD BECAUSE IT IS EXPENSIVE TO ALLEVIATE.

Answer 6

You should have 'dampers' on each heat supply coming off the main trunk line. You can adjust the air flow at that point and balance your system.
With a single stage furnace you only need a one stage thermostat. If it needs replacing, purchase another quality single stage t-stat.
When its time to replace the furnace, get some prices from HVAC dealers on 2 stage and variable speed furnaces. They operate more efficiently and can save you on fuel costs.

Answer 7

WHOA, YELLOW LIGHT!!! I'm sorry but I feel that this is a bit too personal of a question for me to answer. I mean, I know we've been contacts for forever and all but seriously, how well do I know you and how can I be assured that you won't use any information I give you against me at some point in the future? Anyway, I sincerely wish you the best in your quest for cheap and easy electronic control devices.

Answer 8

they have all kinds of thermostats on ebay. programable room to room time of day. they are cheap and easy to install. Here's a direct link