Thermostat for fan-coil unit
Started by Aaron2
about 13 years ago
Posts: 1698
Member since: Mar 2012
Discussion about
My co-op apt has central a/c, with individual fan coil units in each room. The on/off/hi/med/low fan switch is built into the unit. I'd like to have a 7-day programmable wall-mounted thermostat to control it, so I can pretty much set it to a desired temperature & forget it, rather than playing with the fan speeds. Any particular recommendations on units that work well, and how difficult this may be to install. I'd have to work w/ building mgmt to wire it in -- they don't have any experience in recommended units though, so haven't been much help so far.
I installed thermostats in my fan coil units using the following wireless thermostat:
https://customer.honeywell.com/en-US/pages/product.aspx?cat=HonECC%20Catalog&pid=YTH6320R1001/U
Big advantage of this is being able to place the thermostat where you actually will be (e.g., a couch or bed) so you are most comfortable). You'll need to power this thermostat (or any other) with a power supply. For this thermostat, I believe this works if you have a power outlet near the HVAC unit (like I do): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/764190-REG/Vitek_VT_24VAC_20_24VAC_Transformer_20VA.html. If you don't, you can find 24V transformers that wire into the electrical cable directly powering the HVAC unit.
You'll also need a relay to control the power to the HVAC unit. I have this one: http://www.smarthome.com/300612T/Aube-RC840T-240-On-Off-Switching-Electric-Heating-Relay-with-Built-in-24-V-Transformer/p.aspx
Installation is not difficult and generally involves opening the part of the HVAC innards containing the live electrical wires and splicing as appropriate. Honestly your building management will be clueless about this and you are better off hiring an electrician familiar with HVAC systems if you aren't confident yourself.
I should add that the relay I posted is actually a newer model than what I had. This new one has a built in transformer so that simplifies the process.