Does anybody know of a programmable thermostat that can be locked out with a security code, so that tennants cannot manipulate the heat? I would rather not use one of those plastic lockable boxes.
any thoughts how to do this?
Does anybody know of a programmable thermostat that can be locked out with a security code, so that tennants cannot manipulate the heat? I would rather not use one of those plastic lockable boxes.
any thoughts how to do this?
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Replies
Tennants tend to get pissy when they can't screw around with the tstat. Mount a dummy t-stat and let them fool with it all they want.
Hide the working one behind a non working vent grill.
Great advice, I might try that too. I have a place where I pay the heat and installed a Honeywell programmable with a max temp setting feature (checked their website to see if they still sell it and didn't see it there, but maybe their new stuff has a similar feature). I'm almost positive one of the tenants has gone so far as to get the manual from Honeywell to reset the thing and override the programming (every Spring when I shut down the boiler, the t-stat programming has been futzed with in some way and I can't tell if it was just a glitch or what).
I constantly have in the back of my mind ways to zone the heat and add boilers so I can put the heat back on the tenants. Haven't figured out a good solution yet (zoning is not that big of a deal, but venting a bunch of boilers (4 apts.), much less paying for them has always been the issue).
I've had tennants screw up tstats so bad in the middle of summer it was cycling AC till it got cold then tripped to heat till it got hot then back to AC and so on... for a couple of days. They complained that they thought the unit was malfunctioning because the humdity was getting unbearable.
I was at a church in January where they had a thermostat that would automatically set back to a preset temp after two hours. A feature like that might come in handy too.I'm thinking it was a Honeywell.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Check the Honeywell Vision Pro series.
A while back I looked at the manuals. IIRC they have somekind of security or lockout mode.
One thing that I do remember them having is a way to ofset the tempature reading so what is is display is a higher or lower than what it actutally is measuring.
"I would rather not use one of those plastic lockable boxes."
Even if you use a plastic lock box, the tenants will just park a bag of ice on top of the thing or pack snow in it...it'll get hotter than blazes in there. <g>
There are temp sensors that you can put in the apartments and you can control the temp with a remote t-stat. The biggest problem I've had in my apartments is tenants that leave windows open in the winter. I've always thought of having a sensor switch that turns off the heat when the window is open. "If you have the window open you must be hot"
I feel I have to add. Right now I have a great bunch of tenants.
All of the White-Rodgers 90 series thermostats have kepad lockout features, and a few of their 80 series do as well. Honeywell VisonPro 8000 series do, as do the older PC8900, and T7300 series.
Based on the replies I've read maybe what you want to do is start charging tenants for HVAC. Then you won't care how they set it.