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From: hogg@utcsrgv.UUCP (John Hogg)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Why don't thermostats work?
Message-ID: <3247@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 10:54:31 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.3247
Posted: Wed Feb  8 10:54:31 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Feb-84 21:56:15 EST
References: <877@ihuxl.UUCP>
Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto
Lines: 20

The response from the Great White North is that thermostats tend to be very
crude in design and poorly positioned.  If a thermostat is placed above or
close to a radiator (the worst culprits are electric radiators with integral
thermostats) then it must be set high, since it thinks the room is warmer than
it actually is.  Thus, as the outside temperature goes down and the heating
system must stay on longer to compensate, the thermostat lives in its own
warm little corner, and the rest of the house freezes.  Or to rephrase, the
temperature gradient between the radiator and the outside wall increases, and
as the thermostat lives near the former, the actual living-space temperature
drops.
	You can get the reverse effect by putting the thermostat on an outside
wall or in a drafty hall.  As the outside temperature falls, the thermostat
gets hit by cold blasts and over-responds, cooking the rest of the house.
	Problems of this sort will be amplified by poor insulation.  If your
heating system can't keep the house at a reasonable temperature when it's only
-10F outside, then either its main component is a large candle or you should
seriously investigate the price of weatherstripping...
-- 

 {allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!hogg