Using Vera 2 to work around Trane's 55 degree min setpoint

Other Devices & Integrations Climate Control & Temperature Sensors
1

I have the Trane model TZEMT400BB32MA thermostat and the Vera 2 zwave controller. The Trane has the oft-criticized 55 degree minimum set point, which is unsatisfactory for my vacation home application. (All of my previous digital thermostats could be set as low as 41 degrees)

However, I can set up a Scene on the Vera 2 that is event triggered when the ambient temperature falls below 45 degrees. The Trane will normally be kept in the system OFF mode and the Scene will change the mode to HEAT for an hour then turn it back to OFF.

So, even though the Trane cannot be set to a point lower than 55, it should continue to accurately report the ambient temperature while it is OFF and the temperature falls well below 55.

I would appreciate hearing any flaws in my thinking…

Bill

2

Makes complete sense from a logic standpoint.

But the problem I see is it doesn’t fail safe.

I hate to say it but while vera has made tremendous strides in stability I personally wouldn’t trust it to do anything that is as mission critical as turning my heat on to keep my pipes from freezing.

Some folks have been known to put thier veras on a cheapo lamp timer to force a reboot in the middle of each night. That might give you some more protection.

All depends on your level of comfort of something goes wrong.

3

Yes, good points.

In my case I have base board heaters that will kick on at 41, so that should work as a fail-safe.

Why don’t I just rely on the baseboards heaters for my freeze protection? Because my home is all-electric and I’ve subscribed to time of day electricity rates. It is much cheaper to heat overnight, and much more expensive to heat during the day. So the Vera 2 will also run a Scene that warms the home overnight and allows it to coast during the high rate hours.

I’ll try this for this winter season and get a feel for how well the Vera 2 handles the task.

Bill