Re: Thermostat suggestions for radiant + HVAC + multiple zones

["chi" <mrpinebox@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've had a chance to contact most the tech support staffs for the
vendors above. Tekmar is targeting the hydronic heating market whereas
the other vendors are stronger on 3rd party integration and Internet
control. Here are the main differences between Tekmar and the others.

Pro: Supports fast on-off cycles to modulate the temperature for
radiant heating (PWM). This only works with slow moving systems like
radiant heating. I really like this approach because the radiant
heating system effectively becomes a variable temperature heating
system, and should be able to maintain tight control of temperature.

Pro: Their higher end network thermostats are more like
mini-controllers and can coordinate with other network thermostats
without using a separate controller. For example, I can use the others
thermostats as sensors to temperature average during AC.

Con: The 3rd party integration and Internet control is immature
compared to other home automation thermostats. For example, Internet
control is not available but when the gateway becomes available, it
will require a Macintosh (wth?).

The bottom line is I'd rather make the most of the radiant heating
system/forced air combo and hope for better integration a few years
from now. Thanks all for your comments and insights and for HeatMan's
link to Tekmar.