When choosing any product, the technical data can often make the difference. The same happens for a new room thermostat or chronothermostat. Let’s see which are the most important and how to undestand them, always leaving the installation operations to a qualified professional.
What is the difference between a room thermostat or a chronothermostat?
First of all, before dealing with the technical characteristics, it is necessary to understand what type of product you are looking for. Both room thermostat and chronothermostat are used to regulate the temperature in a room or area of the house or office, communicating directly with the system.
If on a winter day I set the desired temperature to 20°C, I expect the heating system to activate and the room temperature to increase. When the temperature has been reached, the thermostat detects it and commands the system to deactivate the heating elements in that area. This is what a room thermostat does.
The chronothermostat, as its name implies, adds the variable “time”, that is the programming. The user therefore has the ability to set which temperature he wants at certain times and / or days of the week.
The most important technical data in thermoregulation
- Power supply: can be cabled (in Italy 230 Vac) or with batteries. In case of cable power supply, it is necessary to verify that the wall housing is reached by electricity, as well as by the connection to the boiler (excluding radio models).
- Contact rating / capacity: the maximum load that can be applied to the electrical contacts, depending on the equipment that is connected to the thermostat.
- Relay / output: it can be normally open (NO) or in changeover (exchange). If normally open, it means that the device only controls heating, while if in changeover it can regulate both heating and air conditioning.
- Adjustment range / operating temperature range: it is the range in which the desired room temperature can be set
- Thermometer resolution: the minimum settable interval between one temperature and another, is expressed in fractions of a degree. The most accurate is 0.1°C, usually on electronic devices.
- Thermometer accuracy: the precision of the detected room temperature, in optimal installation conditions.
- T. max / Max. Tolerance temperature: the maximum temperature to which the device can be exposed in operation without suffering damage to the sensitive element.
- Operating temperature: the temperature range (minimum and maximum) to which the device can be exposed in operation without suffering damage to the sensitive element.
- Storage temperature: the temperature range (minimum and maximum) to which the device can be exposed even when switched off without being damaged.
- Differential: expressed in Kelvin degrees, it is the temperature difference between the connection or disconnection of the relay that controls the system. For example, if we set 20°C on the room thermostat with a differential of 1K, this will reactivate the boiler when the temperature drops to 19°C, and vice versa (since the transformations between the Kelvin and Celsius scale are unchanged).
- Insulation class: insulation class: usually in class II, that is, it does not need to be connected to grounding.
- Protection degree: expressed in IP, it indicates the resistance of the product to accidental events, such as the infiltration of water and dust.
- Operating mode: such as On / Off or Summer / Winter, it indicates the operating modes of the thermostat. The more there are, the more customization is allowed to one’s daily habits.
- Settable temperatures: usually present in the chronothermostats, it indicates how many temperatures (eco, comfort, antifreeze, night, day, etc.) it is possible to set
- Time slots: present in the chronothermostats, it indicates the steps in which the programming can be set and is expressed in minutes, hours or fractions of hours.
- System: heating / air conditioning / underfloor. Indicates how many and which systems can control a single thermostat or comparable thermostat.
- Certifications / approvals: indicates which standards and / or quality requirements the device meets.
- ErP Class: acronym of “Energy related Products”. The classification does not correspond to an “energy efficiency rating”, but indicates products with similar operating logics.
We remind you that all IMIT thermostats are easily interchangeable with each other, because the fixing center distance that they mount on the base and the wiring are the same.
But if you are undecided about which thermostat to install, we recommend reading these articles:
- How to replace an old room thermostat
- How to choose the right room thermostat for classic and underfloor heating systems
- How to choose the right room thermostat for combined heating and cooling systems
- Why do choose a radio thermostat?
- Refurbishing: how to improve the heating system
Or, browse our site, download our catalog or consult a preview of the instruction manuals of our products for home and office comfort to find the one that best suits you. For further requests, send an email to info@imit.it. Our staff will reply as soon as possible.