Lutron HVAC Kit - Wireless Temperature Sensor

[radioRA2automation]

Hope everyone is well. I am installing the Lutron HVAC kit and had two questions about the Wireless Temperature Sensor.

My installation is for a single A/C and no zone controls, etc. Very traditional install with the existing thermostat in the central part of the home near the main HVAC return vent which is in the ceiling.

1) Is it OK to install the Wireless Temperature Sensor on the ceiling near the HVAC return vent? I ask because in my installation scenario, installing the sensor on a wall is not ideal, ascetically.

2) Can I install more than one Wireless Temperature Sensor and, if so, will the Lutron HVAC controller average the temperatures?

[rad8late]

Hope everyone is well. I am installing the Lutron HVAC kit and had two questions about the Wireless Temperature Sensor.

My installation is for a single A/C and no zone controls, etc. Very traditional install with the existing thermostat in the central part of the home near the main HVAC return vent which is in the ceiling.

1) Is it OK to install the Wireless Temperature Sensor on the ceiling near the HVAC return vent? I ask because in my installation scenario, installing the sensor on a wall is not ideal, ascetically.

You can install the wireless temp sensor anywhere but I would never recommend it on a ceiling nor near the return. The simple reason is that hot air rises and it's likely the return vent is not centrally located. Remember that when the unit is not running in cool mode the fan most likely will not be running so therefore there will be not circulating air passing over the sensor. However, if you do want to try it on the ceiling you don't have much to lose because you can always easily move it around and it sounds like in your case your return grill is central. You might find the temp calibration helpful (right click to get to advanced settings). I would guess the ceiling air will be 1-3 degrees warmer so a -1, -2 or -3 may help offset the ceiling air temperature difference.

2) Can I install more than one Wireless Temperature Sensor and, if so, will the Lutron HVAC controller average the temperatures?

Yes. You can have up to five wireless temp sensors per main repeater. When one or more wireless sensors is attached to an HVAC controller the controller disregards any physically wired sensors and takes the average of all the wireless that are attached to the particular controller.

Also, as an FYI: Lutron has discontinued the HVAC controller and wireless temp sensors in RA2 (and HWQS) and is not supporting them at all in RA3 (or QSX). It's really too bad as we installed quite a few of the HVAC controllers and wireless temp sensors over the past decade and they were a really good solution (but for the lack of low battery alerting on the wireless temp sensor) and customers really like the centrally managed lighting and HVAC in the same app. I pressed Lutron sales/marketing on this last year and the only token answer I got is "we are focused on being a lighting (and shade) company."

For new installs where the customer wants multi room temperature sensors we are now using the Honeywell T10 Pro systems. They are top notch and support any features (including humidity) that you could ever image and have great integration support with pretty much all systems (Pro to DYI).

[radioRA2automation]

Thanks for the post.

Re, discontinuing. I'm still looking for an official press release or other because suppliers are still selling the HVAC kits and other gear.

I'm installing this into my own home and am installing it with the Lutron seeTemp Wall Control into an existing 2 gang that is near where the soon to be previous Lutron TouchPro Wireless is located.

Since you mentioned discontinuing, perhaps I'll keep the Lutron TouchPro Wireless in my spare gear box just in case because I don't plan on replacing the RA2 that is in my house. The Main Repeater, Visor Control Receiver, and all of my RRD-PRO's have worked flawlessly. And they integrate perfectly into my RTI system.