New Tekmar 260 - Where do I put the Indoor Sensor?

[Don2222]

Hello

I have a Buderus G115WS/4 with Carlin Burner and Superstore Indirect for DHW. There are 3 Zones using 2 Taco SR-501 relays, Sweat Checks in the supply lines and Taco 007 Circulators.

Everyone says that the Indoor Sensor helps get the room up to the target temperature faster because the feedback room temp is used for the base of the heating demand curve in the Tekmar 260.

Here is the question for this split entry.

Zone 1 goes to all the bedrooms at one end with the thermostat in the Master Bedroom. Heat is turned up more at night.
Zone 2 goes to the living room and kitchen at the other end. Heat is turned up more in the day.

So where does the indoor sensor go for best results??



See wiring diagram below:

 

[btuser]

Setback doesn't work that great with the tekmar unless you use the unoccupied setting, but there's only one so you couldn't use it for two independent zones at opposite times. I ran a trip output from my alarm panel to the unoccupied terminal so that when the premise was armed it would disable the DHW heating and the rooms would drop down to 65F. It didn't work for me, because I've got an inlaw and the folks like the house warmer than us, plus we heat with wood on our side so it throws it off.

I would put it downstairs, but ideally, you could use 3 sensors in a series/parallel circuit which would even out the whole building. Setback throws off the heating curve too much.

 

[Don2222]

Hi Btuser

I really like the idea of hooking it to the Alarm panel! I can certainly do that myself!

Since the Indoor sensor varies resistance with temperature of the room, not sure if 2 or 3 indoor sensors would help because thet would give an average temp to the Tekmar. The tekmar needs the temp of the zone it is heating for best results.

The best answer may be to automatically switch indoor sensors in the two zones since they usually do not heat at the same time?

 

[btuser]

Here's another trick. Tennants (and wives and relatives) don't understand what it takes to heat a house. I used to wire the thermostat through an output on the panel, so whenever a window or zone was open it would shut down the heat. I'd get a call telling me there was no heat and I'd tell them to shut the windows.

As near as I can figure, the Tekmar 260 is for one boiler heating one area, with an over-ride for DHW. If you series two sensors and then parallel the third the 3 sensors will give an average. I've seen it where the old thermostats were removed and the indoor sensors were added. Very handy, especially in a tennant building.

 

[Don2222]

Hi Btuser

That is another good trick. LOL

Well I finally setup the tekmar with the New England Tekmar Expert at the granite group. He convinced me not to bother getting an Indoor sensor for my mutiple zone boiler. The Indoor Temp sensor is made only for a one zone system and there is little benefit trying to add it into a multi-zone system