Greetings.
Two days ago, a power surge from an electrical storm destroyed at least 5 thermostats in our planned community neighborhood of 60 homes. In each instance, the thermostat was a Nexia/Trane model 624 (or similar), which was installed with the furnace by the same HVAC contractor (since fired by the builder) when the homes were built 6-7 years ago. No other electrical devices were affected by this power surge. I had the unit replaced yesterday by a Trane tech with the upgraded model.
I would appreciate answers the following (which the HVAC tech was not able to provide):
1. Why was the power surge damage limited to thermostats and no other devices?
2. Could this brand/model of thermostat be more susceptible to power surge than others? Is six years the expected life of this unit?
3. Is there a device/strategy (e.g., whole house surge protector) which will prevent the recurrence of this event in the future? Does a surge protector operate like a master circuit breaker? What should we look for in such a device and its cost?
We greatly appreciate your assistance.
Two days ago, a power surge from an electrical storm destroyed at least 5 thermostats in our planned community neighborhood of 60 homes. In each instance, the thermostat was a Nexia/Trane model 624 (or similar), which was installed with the furnace by the same HVAC contractor (since fired by the builder) when the homes were built 6-7 years ago. No other electrical devices were affected by this power surge. I had the unit replaced yesterday by a Trane tech with the upgraded model.
I would appreciate answers the following (which the HVAC tech was not able to provide):
1. Why was the power surge damage limited to thermostats and no other devices?
2. Could this brand/model of thermostat be more susceptible to power surge than others? Is six years the expected life of this unit?
3. Is there a device/strategy (e.g., whole house surge protector) which will prevent the recurrence of this event in the future? Does a surge protector operate like a master circuit breaker? What should we look for in such a device and its cost?
We greatly appreciate your assistance.