I’m looking at purchasing a zwave thermostat and i saw a lot of people are using the WDTC-20 thermostat. My current thermostat (Honeywell TH8110U1003) allows me to setup a schedule for different parts of the day. I set the temp i want and it will automatically switch to cool or heat depending on the setpoints i make. From what i’ve read it looks like i can do that kind of thing using vera. Is that true? I basically want to have a schedule but also be able to override remotely if needed. Let me know if these things are possible. Thanks.
Anyone out there thats used this product that can comment?
I have three of these thermostats up and running, and all controlled by Vera. One has been in continuous operation for >2 months, and the others up for a few weeks. I’m very pleased with their performance, especially given their very reasonable price (street < $100).
The thermostats can be controlled using Vera, sending a command to place them in auto fan mode and either heat or cool, with a specified temperature setting. There is a bit of an odd glitch related to C/F conversion such that some temps are not supported (e.g., you can set it using Vera at 77 degrees but not 78 degrees). Additionally, there is full local (manual) control, but no local programming capability or timed setback. There is a one-button energy saving mode that will change the temperature to a preset temp, but I don’t find this useful.
It would be nice to have local programming capability if/when Vera or my home network go down, but with Vera operating, all three units have been running smoothly. I’ll add that each thermostat is controlled in several temperature increments daily (e.g., cool to X temp before the kids go to bed, increase at 11 pm and further at 8 am for the day).
Note that you will need 24V power at the thermostat, in case you’re replacing a standard three-wire (non-powered) thermostat, like I did. Fortunately, Wayne-Dalton customer service reps talked me through the process of drawing power from my Trane A/C units and were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Given that I have only basic electrician skills, this was very reassuring and saved me the cost of professional installation.
Given my experience, I would comfortably recommend these W-D thermostats.
I have two Wayne Dalton WDTC-20 thermostats in a vacation home. I’ve found that with the latest Vera firmware that the thermostats work great, once you get them installed properly.
My only complaints with the Wayne Dalton’s is that they have a very poor physical design. The back of the thermostat has jumpers and capacitors that are in the exact same spot where the control wiring comes through the back plate. If you don’t trim your control wires (which I never recommend) and spend care in getting the control wires completely out of the way, and exactly the correct length, then the thermostat never sets properly in place, and can actually pop loose from the control connection pins. The plastic clips on the sides of the thermostat that hold the front part of the thermostat in place are also pretty flimsy in my opinion. The physical design of the Trane thermostats that I replaced was far superior with large clips that really lock the thermostat in place. You never get the feeling that the front panel of the Wayne Dalton is firmly locked in place…
It’s too bad, becuase, once you install the Wayne Dalton properly, it’s a great thermostat… Just plan on an extra 30 minutes to an hour to really tuck the control wires as far back into the wall as you can…
I, too, installed the Wayne-Dalton thermostat yesterday, and had the very same complaints.
(a) It’s made of flimsy plastic … bends and sways with every touch. And I mean “bendy” like a squeezable ketchup container!
(b) The circuitry is poorly placed with respect to the wiring. A huge capacitor and the several (large) option jumpers land directly on the wires … which the installer is forced to mash flat, re-route, and/or push back into the wall!
(c) Getting the front cover to snap on is VERY challenging, as the 6(!) hold tabs barely grip the edges, and never provide an audible “snap” (I shudder to think of the next time I have to service the thermostat or change its batteries). My old Lennox simply clipped on at the top, and swung shut with a solid “snap” at the bottom!
(d) The wiring screw-down strip and its “finger-tweezer” contacts are old school (the Lennox thermostat this replaced had a great screw-down mechanism for straight wire ends, plus a positive-contact “pad” method of connecting the electronics).
Do companies like Wayne-Dalton not test their products for usability? O-M-G!!
When I first added the WDTC-20 to Vera, I held down its “BIND” button too long, and it registered as an On/Off Light Switch … which is how it’s supposed to act for backward compatibility. I had to reset the device with Vera’s dongle, then re-include it by simply “tapping” the “BIND” button once. Success! The thermostat then appeared as an actual thermostat, with all its adjustable properties visible on Vera’s ‘Devices’ page.
I don’t know what type of wire your system has. Stantard Stat wire tucks in no problem. If your home has 16 ga or 14 ga wire I can understand a bit this is not very common in a residence. Installing the WD thermostat as are other stats not as difficult as you claim. I have installed several of these without such difficulty. But electrical is what I do for a living.
In my case, the bundle of wires between the thermostat and my HVAC system has what Wayne-Dalton refers to as a “4+1” configuration, meaning 5 total copper conductors: R, W, Y, B and C.
It is, as you point out, rather unfortunate that my wires happened to be of sufficiently stout gauge (I’m guessing #18) that it took some effort to bend them out of the way of the WDTC-20’s rear components, but I managed to tuck them neatly and without fear of crimping the wires or having them touch.
Fact is, with 5 solid-copper conductors coming out of a hole in the wall, then having to splay them evenly across the “screw bar” of the WDTC-20’s wall bracket, there’s a very high probability that even the neatest installation will experience some “traffic jam” between the wires and the capacitor/jumpers mentioned above.
What’s more, the 10 or so large copper “fingers” that the WDTC-20 uses to establish contact between the thermostat’s two halves create their own “spring effect” … combining with the tension already introduced by the cramped wiring … to cause concern that one day the front cover might pop off with little (if any) provocation.
I call this a poor product design, which could have been avoided with very little effort on Wayne-Dalton’s part, and I’ve brought this fact to their attention quite clearly by writing to them directly.
Would I allow the flimsy product design to alter my choice of the WDTC-20 as my trusty thermostat? Probably not. So I hope prospective buyers instead take heart in the WDTC-20’s interoperability with Vera (known to be nearly flawless) and overall endorsement by fellow home automation enthusiasts, as these amount to a resounding recommendation, especially at the WDTC-20’s current price point.
Note: This model is now available on Amazon.com for under $91 (last week it was closer to $100)!
I really don’t see the problem. I have been doing this for years. There is no rule or code that prohibits you from pushing the exess wire back into the wall. There is plenty of space for you to teminate the wires. There are plenty of stats out there with less room.
From your replies, Z., I take it you own one or more of these WDTC-20 thermostats and find their build quality to be substantial? No pressure from the copper pins it uses to connect front panel to rear? The plastic retaining clips on yours “click” audibly when the cover is closed and the cover material doesn’t bend or otherwise threaten to pop loose at an inopportune time?
Because those are the primary complaints I have about this unit. Over and above the side issue of W-D’s placement of the largest electronic components in the wiring feed-through’s direct path … that’s merely a secondary complaint.
I have installed many of these. I do this for a living. These types of terminal are typical and not out of the ordinary. Put a little grove in the drywall there is no law against this. The “B” terminal is the only tight one.
My only issue with the confuguration of the back plate is that the holes are not standard wall box.
A lot of the Zwave switches are very deep. so are GFCI receptacles. It’s part of the teritory. As electricians we deal with it.
I’m really glad I read this message set today. I was wondering why my WDTC-20 would not let me set certain temperatures but now I understand. Also, I too struggled with getting the thermostat to mount on the wall plate for about 45 minutes. I even called WD tech support (but I did feel like an idiot calling for something as silly as this) and I was told I was not the first to have difficulty with the case.
All that said, been running since May without a hitch. I’m going to put a second one in this week. Well worth the money.
Does anyone know whether the WDTC-20 thermostat’s more technical functions can be adjusted or controlled via Z-Wave?
I find the Owner’s Manual that comes with this unit is adequate only for installation and the most rudimentary settings. But I’d like to alter things like “Min/Max Time Idle” and so forth, but cannot find a “Technical Manual” anywhere online.
Its a pretty dumb thermostat…what you see is what you get with the WDTC-20. You can not controller the FAN ON/OFF switch which really bites.
I installed 2 of them in my house. They work half was decent my only complaint is they cost me 500 bucks when I installed them! I put my foot through the ceiling running a 5 conductor wire down 2 floors!!! HAHAHA
WD’s attempt to answer my question came by email, but missed the mark IMO:
“The WDTC-20 is a set-point thermostat, not a programmable thermostat.
It is designed to be controlled by a zwave controller such as
Wayne-Dalton’s USB stick using ThinkEssentials software (or Houseport
with the USB stick for a Mac computer) or the soon-to-be released Home
Manager ST (available through professional installers.) Software
controllers will offer the largest variety of commands avaiable but keep
in mind that all software products may not offer the same functionality.”
[quote=“LibraSun, post:14, topic:164466”]Does anyone know whether the WDTC-20 thermostat’s more technical functions can be adjusted or controlled via Z-Wave?
I find the Owner’s Manual that comes with this unit is adequate only for installation and the most rudimentary settings. But I’d like to alter things like “Min/Max Time Idle” and so forth, but cannot find a “Technical Manual” anywhere online.
I caught mine on sale at asihome.com for like $52.00. If you’re looking to get one then I recommend keeping an eye on that site for when/if the sale hits again. I think they are at about 78.00 right now
I was just reading the forum to figure out how to get the fan to work and I see you say that it doesn’t work. Grrr! FAIL! A very simple obvious firmware feature that is obviously supported in the protocol since the Vera web page has buttons for it.
My bathroom doesn’t have a vent fan and in the summer I have a window fan that works fine and I control it with Vera to turn itself off after a while, etc. I had planned on using Vera to make a scene so that when I push the button on the appliance module in the bathroom (that runs the fan in the summer) it would turn the fan on for some period of time.
That said, I have a few comments to add to what other have noticed.
First while it isn’t the most solid of products I didn’t notice it being particularly flimsy. I had to rewire my 2-wire system with more conductors for the power common and fan so I pulled a multi-stranded cable which is a lot more flexible. It is a pain to get all the wires done but the top snapped right on and is fine. My only mounting problem is it uses different screws than the previous one and is a little smaller so there is a bare spot underneath where it wasn’t painted under the old controller.
I had no problem pairing and everything worked from the controller (including the fan with the front switches!!).
My temperature seems to read about 3 degrees F high as compared with my Davis weather station console left nearby for a day and about 2 degrees high based on a thermocouple taped to the front. I haven’t changed the calibration yet.
The backlight comes on at times. I assume Vera is pinging it.
I still haven’t figured out how it works. I had hoped I could set my Normal and Save temperatures to use the front panel and then have the Vera controls override the current set point. I haven’t used it enough to really see but it appears that Vera reprograms the saved Heat target.
Can anyone give me some shortcuts on the logic and how to configure it?
Some things I want:
turn the heat up in the weekday mornings (weekend a different time).
turn the heat up for a period if the keylock gets a good code and it is after noon (IE when I come home).
turn back late at night and in the mornings if i haven’t locked the door (and turn it down when i lock).
and finally:
If the temperature is below a certain point I want to turn an appliance switch on to activate an auxillary lizard heater to keep the gecko warm enough when the rest of the house is cold.