A computer controlled furnace fan can improve air balance in your home. Often it will balance the temperature in those hard to heat or cool rooms. An X10 Universal Module (UM506) can be used to interface the furnace fan to a computer. With home automation X10 schedulers or a computer, the fan can be operated a few hours a day to improve heating and cooling in the house.
The X10 control system is a power line carrier standard that enables remote operation of lights, fans and other devices.
Most residential heating and cooling system thermostats have a fan control switch. The switch is used to select automatic fan operation or to turn the fan on continuous operation. A relay that duplicates the continuous operation switch will turn on the fan without interfering with the normal operation of the heating or cooling system.
Any changes to the heating or cooling system must be done by appropriate and qualified service personnel. Location of the X10 Universal Module relay can be near the air handler or near the thermostat. It may be easiest to install it near the air handler. Thermostat wire has high temperature insulation and should be used if the cable needs to enter the air handler housing. The relay contacts wired to the G and R terminals is all that is required.
It is useful to understand the typical operation of a heat pump heating and cooling system.
I have a setup of this that uses a non feedback method so that no signal is sent back to the termostat that could (the chronotherm III did) activate the a/c controls.
ReplyDeletemy biggest problem is a reliable um506 that does not stutter its relay on and off when in continous mode and it is switched on. This causes the fan motor to Slam on and off loudly !