TRANE HVAC Thermostat Question

[CG6]

Hi all,
I am planning to replace my HVAC system with a Trane XR 16 and XV 80. Since I had to deal with wide temperature variations in my two level home, installer is suggesting an ecobee thermostat with remote sensor for upstairs to improve the comfort. I have two questions.
1. Can I have any smart thermostat with the Trane system that I am buying? If so, can Nest be a better alternative than Ecobee?
2. Is there a reason to assume that the Trane system is built to work better only with a Trane thermostat? In that case any recommendations other than XL824? It is not rated very well compared to other smart thermostats. Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated.
thanks!

[pecmsg]

2 stories
2 Systems

Controls wont fix bad air flow!

[ammoniadog]

1. Nest is NOT a better alternative, compared to almost any other thermostat out there, much less an Ecobee. Ecobee makes good stuff. Nest is all marketing and fluff and the bane of many a HVAC tech due to all of the strange issues that they can cause.

2. If your furnace/air handler is a fancy model that is made to work with a communicating controller (which I don't think yours is), then that manufacturer's controller can be the best choice. If you don't have a communicating furnace/air handler, then almost any thermostat (except nest) will likely work just fine.

3. Using a stat that's setup with an averaging sensor can help with large temperature differences in different areas. Keeping the fan blowing all of the time can sometimes help too. Having manual dampers that can be adjusted each summer and winter can also sometimes help.

Of course none of this stuff is as good as having proper zoning controls or an extra system, but it can be alright.

[mgenius33]

Hi all,
I am planning to replace my HVAC system with a Trane XR 16 and XV 80. Since I had to deal with wide temperature variations in my two level home, installer is suggesting an ecobee thermostat with remote sensor for upstairs to improve the comfort. I have two questions.
1. Can I have any smart thermostat with the Trane system that I am buying? If so, can Nest be a better alternative than Ecobee?
2. Is there a reason to assume that the Trane system is built to work better only with a Trane thermostat? In that case any recommendations other than XL824? It is not rated very well compared to other smart thermostats. Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated.
thanks!

What exactly is wrong with the XL824? It has more functionality for the system and can use wireless sensors. Those sensors can be used to average the spaces. The average of each sensor can also be a weighted percentage. The 824 can send a digital signal to better control the variable speed fan the others cannot. The 824 has a 10 year part warranty the others aren’t even close.