Current State: hot water furnace with 4 zones (3 living spaces, 1 domestic hot water), three thermostats integrated with HA)
Objective: Minimize furnace run time by coordinating zone heating
Before I go “build” something, I’d like to understand approaches other have used.
Current Concept - I would specify one zone as the “primary zone”, this is the zone where I want the thermostat to do its job of maintaining the temperature at its setpoint. When that zone activates, I would increase the setpoints of the other zones by 1 degree (for starters). That should cause the other zones to turn on if they are already close to their threshold. Once the primary zone has completed its heating cycle. I would return the other zones to their original setpoints (e.g. 1 degree less) either immediately or after a delay or after they complete their cycle.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Examples?