Remote controlled thermostat(s)

nemo1 · Post by **nemo1** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:15 pm

Hi - I'm trying to control my thermostat so I can turn the heat up before I get to the house. I know there are a few products on the market that can do this. The problem is that my system uses a unique type of themostat, so I've come up with two ideas to make this work. They're a bit Rube Goldberg, so bear with me.
1. I could turn the dial with a servo. I've already, with the gracious help of Rob and binky, set up a pan and tilt head remotely via slingbox (see thread in protocol decodes for details). I could attach this to the dial on the thermostat and turn it that way. Too bulky and unsightly, unless I built something custom.
2. A simpler method would be to buy another thermostat and switch between the two - one set high and the other set low. I would need a double pole - double throw switch that could be controlled via IR and slingbox. Any suggestions on what I could use to do this? Thanks.

Mark Pierson · Post by **Mark Pierson** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:22 pm

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to buy a programmable thermostat? The system can't be that unique that a standard off-the-shelf unit couldn't be used, could it?

nemo1 · Post by **nemo1** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:10 pm

Well, yes and no. The system is hydronic - radiant heat. The thermostat has a feature called pulse modulation, where the on times vary according to the difference between actual temperature and setpoint (target). As radiant systems are slow responding, the on time gets shorter the closer it gets to the target temperature. This is to prevent overshooting the target. If I didn't care about this feature I could get a cheap digital thermostat with a timer, or better yet one that's remote controlled - smarthome has one, although it's expensive. I think the simple remote switching between two thermostats would be cheap and easy and preserve the pulse feature.

classicsat · Post by **classicsat** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:26 pm

Find someone to make an embedded controller system, which will be a custom thermostat that will both operate the heatings system as desired, and be controllable the way you want. Or search harder for one ready made, or concede you will have to spend a bit.

nemo1 · Post by **nemo1** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 4:30 pm

Ok - Please allow me to make this simple. What I need is a double pole-double throw switch that I can operate remotely. Any suggestions?

mr_d_p_gumby · Post by **mr_d_p_gumby** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:24 pm

I don't know if it is still available, but Radio Shack used to have an IR remote-controlled antenna switch. If you obtained something like this, removed the coax relay, and substituted a DPDT relay of your own, it might work for your purposes.