Re: zoned or not zoned?? thermostatic control of multiple spaces

["E. Lee Dickinson" <lee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Bill Kearney" <wkearney99@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>and tormenting your
> tenants in the process, really doesn't seem like a good idea.

That's how I read this at first, too, untill I went back and re-read the
first post. Curently, there is a single thermostat in a tenant space
controlling the temperature for all three. "Lighthouse" is trying to install
something more equitable.

I would put in a damper system, in this case. This will give your tennants
the maximum amount of control in each of their spaces, without having to
install a seperate air handler for each. Install an electric damper in the
ducts leading to each apartment. The damper will be triggered in parallel
(probably via a 12v relay) with the boiler. Each tennant now has his own
thermostat which he can set to any temperatre he pleases. If the
boiler/blower is running, his duct will simply open when the room is too
cold. If it's not running, it will start up, open his duct, and warm the
place up.

Anyone who lives with someone else knows that different people have vastly
different temperature prefernces, and a few degrees either way can be
intolerably uncomfortable for some people. So this is a big deal, to me.

Electric dampers can be had on Ebay for around $80.

As for a maximum temperature setting, you could always just put some stop
screws or rivits in a conventional lever thermostat or put wireless temp
probes in the apartments with stiff contractual penalties if anyone lets
their apartments get too hot or too cold (expensive/freezing pipes).