need help advice Carrier infinity dual furnace setup

[bhoth]

Hi All,

I am building a new two story above ground with basement house (just under 4,500 square feet total) and I have spec'ed the following items:

(I am waiting for the manual J to get sizing)

Main Floor
Furnace 59TN6A
coil CNPVP
condensor 24ANB6

Upstairs
Furnace 59SP5A
coil CNPVP
condensor 24ANB6

My first question is do I need to spec the infinity thermistat for both main and upstairs?

Should I wait to get the infinity thermistats until fall when the new color models are out?

If I want to get into automation in the house, how do you hook up the infinity thermostats? The info I found on this topic is 2-3 years old. this is 2012 and I cannot find anything up to date.

Thanks

[skippedover]

What you need to know is that currently the evolution of thermostats is as volatile as a volcano. Without a doubt the Infinity User Interface has been top dog for several years but is currently being challenged by other control manufacturers. One such challenger is the Ecobee thermostat that can control your furnaces and give you simplicity of operation as well as full control over the system via a wireless router in your home with connections to your iPhone/iPad and/or laptop. However, I'm sure Carrier is doing a lot more than just putting color into their new User Interface. I suspect that with that introduction you'll also find wireless router connections with similar e-mail notifications.

Either of those furnaces can be controlled by either device so the choice is yours. Or you can have all the latest thermostats by simply purchasing a new one every 6-months. Things are changing that rapidly, much like the desktops did 10-years ago where a new desktop was obsolete before it was delivered to the user.

[bhoth]

I have the Nest thermostat in my current house and was thinking of using it for the upstairs furnace as it is not an an infinity series furnace. My main concern is with the main floor furnace that is an infinity furnace with the variable speed blower. is that variable speed controlled by the infinity thermostat or a curcuit board in the furnace itself?

thanks

[skippedover]

The 2-stage unit is compatible with the Infinity User Interface or with the non-communicating Thermidistat. You are not required to have the User Interface to operate the furnace. The NEST is nice (currently under a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Honeywell) t-stat but IMO the Ecobee Smart t-stat is easier to use and has many more features and benefits.

[bhoth]

do you loose functionality/efficiency by not using the infinity control with an infinity furnace?

[motoguy128]

Getting Infinity equipment without the inifinity controller, is like buying a Corvette, then swapping out the V8 for a 2.4L 4 cylinder. It's now all show and no go. Why bother.

[motoguy128]

Inifinity controller still controls humidity better than any other system by modulating the airflow in small increments based on indoor humidity and temperature as well as outdoor temperature.

Other vendors do modulating furnace operation. But the ecobee won't modulate the furnace based on thermostat demand. Only communicating sytstems do that. Mdoulating furnaces should always be installed with compatible communicating thermostats. Ideally, mfg's would use a standardized communication protocol so owners could purchase aftermarket communicatign stats for modulating equipment... but then they couldn't sell you their own thermostat.

[bhoth]

Still looking for any info on this question:

If I want to get into automation in the house, how do you hook up the infinity thermostats? The info I found on this topic is 2-3 years old. this is 2012 and I cannot find anything up to date.