Programmable Room Thermostat

willougs · 7 Feb 2006

Hi all.

Is there a programmable direct replacement for a ACL RTS2 room thermostat that I can program with certain time ranges to be set to a certain temperature?

Want to be able to maintain temperature in the house at 20 degrees or so, but then automatically increase to "xx" 30 minutes before we are due home

Thanks in advance,
Steve

bathjobby · 7 Feb 2006

Don't know what a ACL RTS2 is, but if its a bog standard stat that switches a live on then almost all will replace it.
I fitted one of these 3 years ago and am very pleased with it, does all you ask for and more and is as slimline as it looks although you do have to fit a deep back box which only took 20 mins or so.

You can find them here; http://www.heatmiser.co.uk/domestic.htm
and they have given great service via email and phone.

xbond · 7 Feb 2006

Watch out for those Heatmiser thermostats, they don't have any anti-cycle function and end up calling for heat on & off in sub-second intervals in some situations.

Not good for your boiler pump, diverter & gas valves

Mentioned it a couple of years ago to the manufacturers who acknowleged they hadn't implemented any anti-cycle function, however as no other customer had ever complained about it, it surely could not an issue...

Bad design...

ChrisR · 7 Feb 2006

Check how hard they are to program. Drayton Digistat 3's are awful. Honeywell CM67 were the best, but Danfoss, Sunvic and others are looking OK too.

bathjobby · 7 Feb 2006

Take your word for it xbond, but I haven't seen a 'problem'. It does call for the boiler sometimes and then as the boiler fires the displayed room temp goes up one degree (to what you have asked for) and so the call to the boiler is cancelled, but that doesn't happen often. I guess thats what you mean by 'cycling' ? Its easy to programme ChrisR, and as easy to override any programme (without changes the programme) as just turning a conventional knob.

xbond · 8 Feb 2006

Yes, that's exactly what cycling is, it happens often in mild weather when the room temperature goes down slowly or oscillates around the programmed temperature.

To overcome cycling, all electronic thermostats implement either a temperature hysteresis (ie threshold between the on & off temperatures) or a minimum time delay between the on & off commands.

Not too sure why Heatmiser thought they wouldn't need it...

ChrisR · 8 Feb 2006

On the H'well one (and some others ) you can easily extend the current period by a number of hours, have today be like a Sunday (day off mode), set a fixed temp for X days while you're away, CONTROL HOW OFTEN IT SWITCHES IN AN HOUR, and many other things. And there's an RF version, external temperature add-on, wireless clock add-on, if you want them.

HarrogateGas · 8 Feb 2006

Im a fan of thr ACL Drayton ones.......easy to use which saves a customer call to me at 9pm at night.

ChrisR · 8 Feb 2006

You serious? I find the Digistat 3 about the most awkward of the lot - and I know it isn't just me! Tenants just give up with those.

willougs · 8 Feb 2006

bathjobby said:
Don't know what a ACL RTS2 is, but if its a bog standard stat that switches a live on then almost all will replace it.

RTS2 is just as basic as it gets I think... standard rotary dial ranging from 10 to 30 degrees I think. I did upgrade from a RTS1, as the RTS2 has an LED that shows when its calling for heat as I was concerned that it was almost permentantly on... and now I can see the LED, it pretty much is.

For some reason downstairs of the house is always really cold, even with radiators boiling to the touch. Thermostat is set to 20 and LED has been on since 4pm.

Anyway, back to the point, I was really looking for a programmable one that uses same wiring as the RTS range (so that I can replace myself easily). Anyone any ideas if the honeywell ones etc are compatible with my existing ACL RTS2 wiring?

Thanks alot guys.

dal5band · 8 Feb 2006

Programmable thermostats are generally battery operated so a lot simpler to connect than the mechanical thermostat; They just have on/off contacts. They also don't lose time if you switch the boiler off or mainteneance etc.

You may have to insulate off the earth wire and the neutral if you have one. Get a honeywell or drayton (surface mount) - the super slimline ones need a deep box.

gmkay · 20 Dec 2006

The new Heatmiser PRT offers Optimum start and adjustable switching hysteresis. There is also a model which can be networked to their central Touchpad - looks really good looking at their online demo. www.heatmiser.co.uk

TicklyT · 21 Dec 2006

xbond said:
Watch out for those Heatmiser thermostats, they don't have any anti-cycle function........

Bad design...

Looking at their manual, they do have a programmable output delay function (0 - 30 mins). The default value is zero, which, I imagine could cause fast cycling

johndm1957 · 24 Dec 2006

I fitted a PRT Heatmiser recently, and I'm very pleased with the unit.

I read about cycling, and set a 5 minuite delay while setting up. It is indeed set at zero when supplied.

gmkay · 9 Jan 2007

johndm1957 said:
I fitted a PRT Heatmiser recently, and I'm very pleased with the unit.

I read about cycling, and set a 5 minuite delay while setting up. It is indeed set at zero when supplied.

Totally agree. I fitted one recently and think its great. The optimum start feature automatically calculates the start up time - and the best thing is the comments from people that see it ! Its not often people comment on a thermostat!

The company also has an online shop which I havent seen listed here http://www.heatmisershop.co.uk

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Programmable Room Thermostat

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