JANUARY 13, 2022 Heating and cooling systems installed in a home may vary from central furnaces, boilers, electric baseboards to heat pumps. The most common type of heating/cooling (HVAC) system used in the USA is the central furnace  – which may be singles stage or multi-stage. A heat pump is used in regions with a moderate climate, where summer/winter is not that extreme at any time. In this article, we guide you through heat pump thermostat models, ideal to control the heat pump in your home. As I wrote above, a majority (90%) of homes in the USA rely on central furnace based systems, or boiler-based systems or heat pump systems. Only about 10% of homes in America use electric baseboards for heating (these homes would be either old constructions or located in places where electricity is cheap). In regions with a moderate climate, a heat pump (with emergency heat) alone is usually enough for home heating/cooling. Homes located in extreme weather regions often use a heat pu...

#1 Compatibility – The very first thing to keep in mind is not all thermostat models are compatible with a heat pump system. There are thermostat models that do not support HVAC systems with a heat pump. You’ve to read the specifications very clearly before you order your thermostat. Note: Read our guide on thermostat compatibility for popular thermostat models.   #2 Wiring – The wiring required for a heat pump is different from other HVAC systems like a central furnace system. So the thermostat you’re considering should support the wiring required for a heat pump. You’ve to check with the manufacturer’s specifications or check the model number online to see if it supports a heat pump system. #3 Heat Pumps with Aux/Emergency Heating – If your heat pump has an aux/emergency heat option, then you’ve to choose a thermostat model that supports the same. Keep in mind there are thermostat models that support a heat pump but are not compati...

ou don't really need a programmable thermostat if you have a heat pump. Because a heat pump may need to quickly shift from heating to cooling, it doesn't make sense to set the thermostat at a set temperature for extended periods.   When a heat pump is in heating mode, there may be more energy inefficiency when a programmable thermostat sets the temperature back at designated times. However, there are newer programmable thermostat models for heat pumps.   With a programmable thermostat, you don't want to cause a heat pump to rely on backup electric resistance systems. You usually save on energy and lower bills by keeping your heat pump in cooling mode versus heat mode.   Keep your home comfortable if you use a heat pump thermostat. You may want to set the temperature at a lower point when you're away from home or asleep. A wide range of thermostat settings for a heat pump isn't as necessary compared to a furnace.   Know before you make a final decision on a thermosta...

Heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners for all climates. Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house.  During the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your house into the  outdoors. Because they transfer heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can efficiently provide comfortable temperatures for your home.    Ecobay has focused on thermostat research for 20 years, high-quality thermostats that work with google home, Heat Pump Thermostat, tuya zigbee 3.0 smart radiator actuator. We look forward to your consultation and cooperation.

A relatively new type of heat pump for residential systems is the absorption heat pump (AHP), also called a gas-fired heat pump. Absorption heat pumps use heat or thermal energy as their energy source, and can be driven with a wide variety of heat sources such as combustion of natural gas, steam solar-heated water, air or geothermal-heated water, and therefore are different from compression heat pumps that are driven by mechanical energy. AHPs are more complex and require larger units compared to compression heat pumps. The lower electricity demand of such heat pumps is related to the liquid pumping only. 

An air-source heat pump can provide efficient heating and cooling for your home. When properly installed, an air-source heat pump can deliver up to three times more heat energy to a home than the electrical energy it consumes. This is possible because a heat pump transfers heat rather than converting it from a fuel like combustion heating systems. Air heat pumps have been used for many years in nearly all parts of the United States, except in areas that experienced extended periods of subfreezing temperatures. However, in recent years, air-source heat pump technology has advanced so that it now offers a legitimate space heating alternative in colder regions. For example, a study by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships found that when units designed specifically for colder regions were installed in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the annual savings are around 3,000 kWh (or $459) when compared to electric resistance heaters, and 6,200 kWh (or $948) when compared to oil sy...

The different types of air source heat pumps are described below. Ductless vs. Ducted vs. Short-Run Ducted Ductless applications require minimal construction as only a three-inch hole through the wall is required to connect the outdoor condenser and the indoor heads. Ductless systems are often installed in additions. Ducted systems simply use ductwork. If your home already has a ventilation system or the home will be a new construction, you might consider this system. Short-run ducted is traditional large ductwork that only runs through a small section of the house.  Short-run ducted is often complemented by other ductless units for the remainder of the house. Split vs. Packaged Most heat pumps are split-systems—that is, they have one coil inside and one outside. Supply and return ducts connect to the indoor central fan. Packaged systems usually have both coils and the fan outdoors. Heated or cooled air is delivered to the interior from ductwork that passes through a wall or...

A heat pump's refrigeration system consists of a compressor and two copper or aluminum coils (one indoors and one outside), which have aluminum fins to aid heat transfer. In heating mode, liquid refrigerant in the outside coil removes heat from the air and evaporates into a gas. The indoor coil releases heat from the refrigerant as it condenses back into a liquid. A reversing valve, near the compressor, can change the direction of the refrigerant flow for cooling mode as well as for defrosting the outdoor coil in winter. The efficiency and performance of today's air-source heat pumps is a result of technical advances such as the following: Thermostatic expansion valves for more precise control of the refrigerant flow to the indoor coil Variable speed blowers, which are more efficient and can compensate for some of the adverse effects of restricted ducts, dirty filters, and dirty coils Improved coil design Improved electric motor and two-speed compressor designs Copper tubing, groo...

A thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) is a self-regulating valve fitted to hot water heating system radiator, to control the temperature of a room by changing the flow of hot water to the radiator. The classic thermostatic radiator valve contains a plug, typically made of wax (forming a wax motor), which expands or contracts with the surrounding temperature. This plug is connected to a pin which in turn is connected to a valve. The valve gradually closes as the temperature of the surrounding area increases, limiting the amount of hot water entering the radiator. This allows a maximum temperature to be set for each room. As the valve works by sensing the temperature of the air surrounding it, it is important to ensure that it is not covered by material (such as curtains). If the controller is removed from the valve the valve turns on and the radiator will always be hot. TRVs should not be installed in the same room where the boiler thermostat is installed. The replacement of a manual heat...

The thermostatic radiator valve head is a quintessential piece of radiator technology. It is one of the many possible heating controls for modulating air temp across rooms. And due to its great value and easy function, it’s one of the most popular. You will find or fit your TRV on the side of your radiator, and correct set-up enables you to maximise a single boiler and enjoy different heats across different rooms. The TRV is a valve that self-regulates, meaning it adjusts the flow of water into your radiator depending on the setting. The thermostatic valve head goes on top of the valve body. And as the room temperature changes, the valve head expands, adjusting a pin in the valve body so that it opens or closes. Expansion as the room heats blocks the valve body to receive less hot water into the radiator. Contraction as the room cools opens the valve body to receive more hot water into the radiator. TRVs come in two main designs. They can be either wax or liquid models, with liqu...

While studying for his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Columbia University six or seven years ago, Marshall Cox regulated his room’s temperature in winter the way most New Yorkers with steam radiators do. He opened a window.   But then his twin brother, Jeremy, moved to New York to dance in “Come Fly Away” on Broadway. His brother complained “incessantly,” Mr. Cox said, that “it was boiling, or freezing, many times both over the course of a night.” It drove Marshall Cox to invent the Cozy, a radiator cover that can contain the warmth in an overheated room and shift it to an underheated room. The Cozy, which Mr. Cox has described as a “glorified oven mitt” and which is being sold on a limited basis, went on to win a $220,000 M.I.T. Clean Energy Prize in 2012.   The Cozy’s victory is understandable. It addresses a problem that has afflicted New Yorkers since the early 1900s, when oversize radiators were necessitated...

The following work aims at demonstrating how a smart thermostatic (radiator) valve network can be used to reduce heating costs by controlling the heat generator (heat-pump, gas boiler, ...) in a more efficient way. Currently, a large proportion of heat generators is controlled by the means of a heating curve, or a similar rule-based logic that mostly rely on outdoor temperature or single point indoor temperature measurements. These simple control laws are in general commissioned to minimize the number of complaints of “cold users”. This results in high forward temperatures, that are energetically non-optimal as they create increased losses in the piping network and also have a negative impact on the heat generator efficiency.  In the proposed data driven approach, a controller was developed to ensure that the radiators receive fluid with the lowest temperature possible, while satisfying the heating needs. To achieve this goal, smart thermostatic valves are used to moni...