multi stage vs single stage
fishin wrote:Some furnaces/heat pumps (typically forced hot air systems) are capable of of running at multiple speeds and they need a milti-stage thermostat. If you have a single speed fan in your system you'd want a single stage thermostat. If you aren't sure you'd need to contact someone that is famaliar with your system and ask them. (you could try the manufacturer's WWW site and se eif they have an on-line manual for it!)
Other than that the only things I look for are the ability to have multiple settings in a single day and seperate settings for each day of the week.
I have a Carrier a/c (cool only) that has a simple manual thermostat but it allows for low, medium, high setting (fan). The desired temp is dialed clockwise or counterclockwise. Then there is the on/off switch. I want to replace with a programmable digital thermostat. Should I get a 2 stage cool thermostat since there are three speeds?? or Does the "stage" refer to the a/c unit rather than to the thermostat? If I get a single stage, then the other speeds are cannot be used, assuming I choose say the medium to connect to the fan in the thermostat).