How One Sensor Can Offer a Load of Difference to a Hydronic Programmable Thermostat
June 15, 2020 | By Resideo
When given the choice between cold or warm feet in the dead of winter – most homeowners would choose warm. Here are a few reasons to suggest a simple upgrade the next time you’re maintaining their hydronic system.
Did you know that slab sensing thermostats can add several benefits to a hydronic system? Installing a sensor in a slab offers the ability to directly control minimum and maximum temperatures at the floor as opposed to waiting for the heat to radiate into the air and be sensed by a typical air temperature sensor. This helps maintain a nice, warm floor so that bare feet aren’t shocked when they step out of the shower, or can provide wood floors protection against warping or cracking, often times caused by overheating.
For in-slab installations Resideo recommends installing the sensor midway between the slab piping, preferably inside a minimum 0.5″ PEX pipe to allow for replacement in the future if needed.
Resideo’s Honeywell Home T6 Hydronic Programmable Thermostat offers slab sensing and provides installation flexibility: it is powered by either a battery or a common wire, which uses the same familiar wiring and wall plate as the rest of the Honeywell Home T Series smart thermostats. It offers flexibility to a variety of applications, and can either be programed or not to deliver comfort when needed, and energy savings when in-floor heat isn’t needed.
Additionally the thermostat can control ambient air temperature, floor temperature or simultaneous air and floor temperature, as needed. It also has built-in freeze protection, and can send an alert when temperatures reach below a certain threshold – even when the thermostat is set to off mode. All this backed up by Resideo’s 5-year warranty.
