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QUESTION:I am in the process of ordering a new construction home with a Trane
gas furnace and AC system (2 zone system with separate furnaces and AC
units). I want to have programmable thermostats but my builder wants
to charge me $700 for the upgrade for both zones. I know I can go to
Home Depot and buy 2 top of the line Honeywell programmable 'stats for
$200 total. So I figure that I can do this upgrade fairly easily
myself and save $500. Every reference I pull up on the web says this
is a very easy do-it-yourself homeowner upgrade as long as you get the
right programmable thermostat for your units.
BUT... my builder says that the standard thermostats and wiring that
he installs are 12V and not the 24V necessary for the programmable
thermostats. And he says that installing my own thermostats "may" void
my warranty (not definitely but "may").
So several things seem fishy here and I am getting the feeling he is
trying to sell me something that I don't need to pay for. Now I know
he's in the business to make money and I don't begrudge him that, but
I am going to spend about the same amount of money regardless so I'd
rather put it to better use for other options if I can.
Fishy things:
-I can't seem to find any comments anywhere about any home heating
systems thermostats that are 12 V in the first place. Everything
appears to be either 24V or 110V.
-As far as I can tell, 12V and 24V wiring is all low voltage so
nothing special going on there for wire specs.
I have requested the specifics of the model #s for the Trane system
being installed but the main source of differences for what the
builder would install vs what I would do myself may be how many wires
are bundled in the lead from the furnace. And wouldn't the "standard"
thermostat have all the leads necessary to run the furnace in the
first place? What am I missing here?
So am I being an annoying home buyer and not trusting the builder or
do I have it right that he's trying hard to sell me for his profit. Is
there some major key to this puzzle that is worth paying him $700
bucks?
ANSWER: The commercial Trane equipment does come with proprietary thermostats, they
do however sell a conversion module to convert the system to standard
controls. I haven't yet seen this in residential applications but it's
possible it's in the system your installing.
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