Do I need a special thermostat for in floor heating also does any type of thermostat work with boilers?
A temperature controller thermostat with set point, maximum temp, and min temp setting is recommended. Set point is required to control at the comfort desired. Max temp limit is req'd for safety. Min temp limit is req'd to prevent catastropic water pipe failures during freezing ambient temps. Dead band control around set point should be plus or minus two degs. or less. More temp swing than 2 deg F makes relative humidity technically impossible to control. Boiler temp control can be set point electrical, set point mechanical, continuously variable electrical or mechanical, or manual control with a continuous operator. Rather than on-off set point, a continuously variable with separate controls for fuel and air/water is highly recommended. On-Off set point is the conventional HVAC system that automatically turns off when it gets warm and turns on when it gets cold. Go figure why anyone would ever settle for on-off set point? On-off set point constantly jerks the relative humidity some 2% for every one deg temp swing rendering RH technically impossible to maintain within the human comfort zone. The averg thermostat swings temp plus or minus five degrees for a total swing of ten degrees F. Relative humidity will swing 15-20% as the temp swings no matter how large the humidifier/dehumidifier may be. The RH comfort zone is violated during each temp swing. Human skin is tough but not that tough.
If you have only one heating zone(and one pump) for the boiler then a regular thermostat will do.
1- A thermostat is nothing more than a switch which turns a relay on and off. Add fancy temperature controls for it to turn on and off. It can have as little as three wires and up to 10. 2- The wires are small since they operate on a low voltage which in turn causes a relay/or relays to connect the house voltage to motors, pumps, fans, etc. 3- In the area of the boiler, there are pipes going to different areas (zones) and there should be a small electric pump in the line going to each zone. 1 pump 1 zone, 2 pumps 2 zones and so on. I used do the wiring on these and the thermostats as an electrician and also replaced pumps as a plumber.
