I've got a 2 story walkout, 3,000 square feet total. Built in 1979. New high efficiency windows were installed last year. Here is my equipment:
Furnace: Carrier WeatherMaker 9300 (#58MTA) 2 stage heat, 80,000 BTU, 5 speed fan (3 of 5 speeds hooked up, 2 speeds parked.) Installed in 2003.
Thermostat: Honeywell CT3400, 5-2 day programmable with adaptive intelligent recovery. Unit is from 1995. (I might replace this stat with a 2 stage WiFi unit.)
Aprilaire 550 humidifier attached to furnace.
There is a 6 degree differential between the main floor where the thermostat is located and the basement area where the TV viewing and sitting area is located. How can I narrow that differential? My ideas:
1. Experiment with the grill settings on the ducts throughout the house. Right now I've got all five basement grills wide open. There are three return vents in the basement. The grills on the main floor are mostly closed and the grills in the upper level are mostly open (but not quite fully open.) Because the ceiling in the basement is finished drywall I can't get at the dampers in the ductwork runs (if there are any.)
2. Run the fan continuously on lowest speed. I just started that experiment tonight and after three hours I've shaved 0.7 degrees off the 6 degrees differential.
3. Change the fan wiring on the furnace control board. Disconnect the red wire (heat fan low) and park it and connect the blue wire (heat fan low-medium). This will bump up the fan speed a little bit. The default setting of fan on low barely moves air. I'm curious what the next speed up would do for overall heating performance, especially when combined with changing the grill openings.
4. Install a 2 stage thermostat and don't use the "adaptive intelligent recovery" feature (now called Smart Response Technology.)
5. Screw it and buy an electrical space heater and use it as needed.
Please comment on my ideas and also list any ideas you have.
Furnace: Carrier WeatherMaker 9300 (#58MTA) 2 stage heat, 80,000 BTU, 5 speed fan (3 of 5 speeds hooked up, 2 speeds parked.) Installed in 2003.
Thermostat: Honeywell CT3400, 5-2 day programmable with adaptive intelligent recovery. Unit is from 1995. (I might replace this stat with a 2 stage WiFi unit.)
Aprilaire 550 humidifier attached to furnace.
There is a 6 degree differential between the main floor where the thermostat is located and the basement area where the TV viewing and sitting area is located. How can I narrow that differential? My ideas:
1. Experiment with the grill settings on the ducts throughout the house. Right now I've got all five basement grills wide open. There are three return vents in the basement. The grills on the main floor are mostly closed and the grills in the upper level are mostly open (but not quite fully open.) Because the ceiling in the basement is finished drywall I can't get at the dampers in the ductwork runs (if there are any.)
2. Run the fan continuously on lowest speed. I just started that experiment tonight and after three hours I've shaved 0.7 degrees off the 6 degrees differential.
3. Change the fan wiring on the furnace control board. Disconnect the red wire (heat fan low) and park it and connect the blue wire (heat fan low-medium). This will bump up the fan speed a little bit. The default setting of fan on low barely moves air. I'm curious what the next speed up would do for overall heating performance, especially when combined with changing the grill openings.
4. Install a 2 stage thermostat and don't use the "adaptive intelligent recovery" feature (now called Smart Response Technology.)
5. Screw it and buy an electrical space heater and use it as needed.
Please comment on my ideas and also list any ideas you have.
