Razor,
Your choice of heat pump thermostat is a choice of air to air or geothermal heat pumps. Then there is the need for two stages as many heat pumps have two stages. Almost all thermostats have the "emergency heat" feature that turns on an electrical resistance element.
I would call your heat pump manufacturer/local dealer, find out what thermostat they suggest and then hunt for it on e-bay. RobertShaw makes zillions of thermostats for different manufacturers - all under different names, but they are basically all the same.
Bear in mind, that heat pumps do not have a quick recovery. For example, on geothermal heat pumps, I recommend only a small setback (5 F). The amount of setback is determined by where you are, how long you are gone and what climate you are in (winter/summer, etc).
My wife works a lot on call so she must get up at all hours to go in and she HATES getting up on cold floors in a cold bathroom with cold air. I like coolish rooms to sleep in and the savings to boot. So if she gets up, I run to the thermostat to turn up the thermostat for our geothermal heat pump. It turns on, but realistically, it only heats up after she has gone (and I have turned it down again . . . )!
She "hears it" turn on and can feel the warmth from the air registers, but grumble, grumble, grumble . . . . .
Steve
__________________
consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990
|